A Framework for Sense and Follow Convoys for Collective Autonomous Mobility
Abraham K. Ishihara, Husni Idris, Min Xue · AIAA AVIATION 2021 FORUM · 2021
View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2021-2329.vid Convoys are collections of vehicles that share similar velocity profiles. In the sense-and-follow convoy construct, a vehicle can follow a member of an existing convoy resulting in convoy chaining. We prove conditions under which this can occur such that the resulting convoy chain is bounded and the velocities of all members converge to the leader velocity through locally distributed control algorithms. To assess the approach, we utilize a six degree-of-freedom rigid body vehicle dynamics model for each agent. In order to evaluate the performance of the convoy algorithms, we leverage Unity, a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Software Inc., where 3-dimensional terrain, building, and vehicle data can be visualized. Numerous simulations are presented to illustrate the concept.