Dynamics of Actively Guided Vehicles

Abstract

SUMMARY In spite of considerable interest in active controls for a wide variety of road and rail vehicles comparatively little work has been carried out on the dynamics of actively guided vehicles in which steering is carried out in response to signals from a controller seeking to follow a given path or track. Drawing from the relevant fields of guided rubber tyred vehicles, rail vehicles and mobile robots the common basis of the dynamics of active guidance is discussed,and this simple theoretical framework is then followed by a review of work in this field. Attention is restricted to wheeled vehicles.