Path following using trajectory shaping guidance

Unmanned vehicle path following by pursuing a virtual target moving along the path is considered. Limitations for pure pursuit guidance are analyzed while following the virtual target on curved paths. Trajectory shaping guidance is proposed as an alternate guidance scheme for a generalized curvature path and it is proven that the vehicle will have the same instantaneous radius of curvature as that of the virtual target. Analytical results show exponential position error convergence for trajectory shaping as compared to conditional convergence for pure pursuit and proportional navigation. Simulations highlight significant improvement in position errors by using trajectory shaping guidance. Experimental validation supports the analytical and simulations findings as the guidance laws are implemented on a radio controlled car in laboratory environment.