Trajectory tracking control of autonomous heavy-duty mining dump trucks with uncertain dynamic characteristics

The proportion of mines using autonomous mining trucks is still very low at present. To promote the development of intelligent mining, it is urgent to proceed with the drive-by-wire modification to common mining trucks and design a motion control algorithm considering uncertain dynamic characteristics. This paper proposes a trajectory tracking control method for autonomous heavy-duty mining dump trucks (AHMDTs) with uncertain dynamic characteristics. In this method, a driving/braking force compensation algorithm based on an inverse dynamic model is designed to guarantee accurate longitudinal control with less control gain tuning. Using road curvatures, a modified rear-wheel position feedback control method is proposed to deal with reverse-path tracking, which can simultaneously reduce the lateral error and yaw angle error. A modified Stanley controller considering the collaborative preview based on speed and curvature is constructed to achieve accurate path tracking in the forward gear. Moreover, the proposed method focuses on the practice of trajectory tracking control in an open-pit mine condition with the adverse effects caused by uncertain vehicle dynamics, huge variable load, and large actuator lag. Real vehicle tests show that the proposed methodology can control AHMDTs with a low tracking error.