Application of articulated and Long Combination Vehicles (LCVs) in challenging off-highway applications is possible with the use of path-following trailer steering. This requires an accurate estimate of trailer off-tracking, but it has been shown that that existing methods for this are not applicable on roads with low friction or significant camber or grade. Here we propose an off-tracking measurement concept using stereo visual odometry which is applicable to off-highway environments. Simulation results demonstrate the theoretical accuracy of the system as well as the effects of camera placement and stereo baseline. Rear-mounted cameras are shown to yield the best precision, with RMS off-tracking measurement errors of 7–36 mm, while side-mounted cameras offer practical benefits such as scope for multiple-trailer configurations. Integration drift errors were shown to be bounded in time due to the relative nature of the off-tracking measurement.
Reference:
De Saxe, C. and Cebon, D. 2016. Visual odometry for trailer off-tracking estimation. 14th International Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Transport Technology (HVTT14), 15-18 November 2016, Rotorua, New Zealand
De Saxe, C., & Cebon, D. (2016). Visual odometry for trailer off-tracking estimation. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/9253
De Saxe, Christopher, and D Cebon. "Visual odometry for trailer off-tracking estimation." (2016): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/9253
De Saxe C, Cebon D, Visual odometry for trailer off-tracking estimation; 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/9253 .
