Vision-Based Autonomous Convoying with Constant Time Delay

This paper describes the design and experimental validation of a vision-based vehicle-following system that uses only onboard sensors to enable a convoy of follower vehicles to autonomously track the trajectory of a manually driven lead vehicle. The tracking is done using the concept of a constant time delay, in which a follower tracks the delayed trajectory of its leader. This constant-time-delay approach allows for new techniques to be used to estimate the speed and heading of the leader. Experiments were conducted with full-sized military vehicles on a 1.3-km test track. Successful field trials with one follower for 10 laps and with two followers for 13.5 laps, totaling over 30 km, are presented. (C) 2010 Government of Canada. Exclusive worldwide publication rights in the article have been transferred to Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.