Patent attributes
A method of maintaining vehicle formation includes receiving a desired cross track offset distance and a desired along track offset distance between a lead vehicle and a follower vehicle; receiving a current position, a current yaw rate, and a current speed of the lead vehicle; determining a current turn radius of the lead vehicle based on the current yaw rate and the current speed of the lead vehicle; determining a projected turn radius of the follower vehicle based on the current turn radius of the lead vehicle, the desired cross track offset distance, and the desired along track offset distance; determining a commanded curvature and a next speed of the follower vehicle based on a current position of the follower vehicle and the projected turn radius of the follower vehicle; and outputting the next speed and the commanded curvature to a control system of the follower vehicle.
