Motion Boundaries Formation For Autonomous Vehicles

In this paper, the application of Model Predictive Control to perform curvilinear motion planning is explored. More specifically, nonlinear MPC will be focused on because of its proven efficiency in the modeling of uncertainties as well as in nonlinear model dynamics. The main objective of this report is to show that with proper modeling and formulation of motion constraints, curvilinear motion planning can be achieved with nonlinear MPC. The trajectory of the vehicle will be tracked with the least error while satisfying constraints such as speed and steering angles. Simulations are presented which demonstrate the ability of the suggested models to successfully perform curvilinear motion staying safely within the bounds, while simulations of several models validate its performance. A deterministic sensitivity analysis was conducted in order to determine the impact

of the prediction horizon time. Experimental results show that a critical prediction horizon time approximately 10 to 13 seconds was identified as the ideal range for optimal results of the model.