A PREDICTOR-CORRECTOR GUIDANCE CONTROL SCHEME FOR AGV NAVIGATION

This paper presents a scheme that employs feedforward control in conju nction with a predictor-corrector scheme for guidance control of Autom ated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). The predictor-corrector scheme provides t he desired values of steering parameters which depend on the geometry of the track and a driving criterion. The geometry of the track/road a head of the vehicle is obtained by extrapolating the identified (estim ated) geometry of the track/road traversed during the elapsed time int erval. This real-time identification is carried out by fitting a curve to the path traversed by the vehicle. The coordinates of the path are provided by a transformation formulation which makes use of the motio n parameters and a kinematic model of the vehicle. The driving criteri on specifies the positioning of the AGV on the track. Several possible criteria are identified in the paper and mathematical formulations ar e presented for one such criterion. Results of off-line calculations u sing simulated track profiles and experimental data obtained using a p rototype AGV while following various track profiles are provided for i llustration.