1999 Volume 61 Issue 6 Pages 131-140
A trajectory control algorithm for front-wheel-steering vehicles was developed for the motion of such vehicles, which has a constraint known as “nonholonomic constraint”. The trajectory control algorithm steers the vehicle from a starting point to a destination along the path described by a polynomial function without conflicting with this constraint. Though the polynomial function was determined directly from the initial and final conditions of the vehicle's trajectory design, iteration was required to design the trajectory of a mounted implement. The direct application of the algorithm could not stabilize the motion of the rear-mounted implement while the vehicle traveled forward, but it was confirmed through simulations that the algorithm was applicable by reversing the running direction. Thus by reversing the time, the trajectory of the implement mounted on the rear end of the vehicle could be controlled even in forward traveling.