Scalable High-Speed Lateral Control for Single-Body and Articulated Autonomous Vehicles

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2608.08293v1
• Date: Sat, 08 Aug 2026 19:09:15 GMT
• Title: Scalable High-Speed Lateral Control for Single-Body and Articulated Autonomous Vehicles
• Abstract summary: This paper presents a scalable lateral control framework for robust path tracking of autonomous vehicles at high speeds.<n>A clothoid-based controller is extended with three key adaptations.<n>Results demonstrate stable high-speed path tracking, reduced oscillations, effective lookahead adaptation, low cross-track errors, and acceptable lateral acceleration across different vehicle configurations.
• Score: 0.9176056742068814
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: This paper presents a scalable lateral control framework for robust path tracking of single-body and articulated autonomous vehicles at high speeds. A clothoid-based controller is extended with three key adaptations: 1) an integrated tangential check and Frechet distance method for optimized lookahead and oscillation mitigation; 2) real-time trajectory segment classification for dynamic adjustment of the lookahead search range; and 3) a dual-adaptive, rate-controlled lookahead mechanism responsive to cross-track error and upcoming path geometry. To support different vehicle configurations, the framework also incorporates flexible tracking point selection and curvature-to-steering lookup tables, enabling control of points such as the tractor rear axle, hitch point, or trailer-related locations without changing the core control architecture. The controller is evaluated using high-fidelity TruckSim and Simulink simulations for both standalone and articulated vehicles across dual lane changes and winding-road scenarios. Results demonstrate stable high-speed path tracking, reduced oscillations, effective lookahead adaptation, low cross-track errors, and acceptable lateral acceleration across different vehicle configurations. The results support the use of a unified lateral control architecture that can scale from single-body to articulated autonomous vehicles.

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