An optimisation-based path planner for truck-trailer systems with driving direction changes

This paper presents a path planning concept for trucks with trailers with kingpin hitching. This system is nonholonomic, has no flat output and is not stable in backwards driving direction. These properties are major challenges for path planning. The presented approach concentrates on the loading bay scenario. The considered task is to plan a path for the truck-trailer system from a start to a specified target configuration corresponding to the loading bay. Thereby, close distances to obstacles and multiple driving direction changes have to be handled. Furthermore, a so-called jackknife position has to be avoided. In a first step, an initial path is planned from the target to the start configuration using a tree-based path planner. Afterwards this path is refined locally by solving an optimal control problem. Due to the local nature of the planner, heuristic rules for direction changes are formulated. The performance of the proposed path planner is evaluated in simulation studies.