Path-Following Controller Designs for Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Industrial Motor Graders

Abstract

Haulage road maintenance is crucial for operational efficiency and safety in mining and construction activities. Industrial motor graders play a key role in this task, both on surface and in underground mines, where production vehicles—such as trucks and loaders—are increasingly being driven autonomously. However, motor graders have yet to be commercially automated. The redundant kinematics of motor graders, including articulation, front-axle steering, and blade operations, pose technical challenges for autonomy. In this work, we leverage the steering redundancy of motor grader designs to formulate a new path following controller that is compatible with existing approaches for the automation of articulated vehicles. The proposed methodology, coined “Single-Track Control” (STC) allows for coordination of both the front-axle steering angle and the vehicle’s articulation angle to keep the front and rear wheels on a common track. This innovation mitigates the risk of collisions with drift walls and improves manoeuvrability. It can be used for semi-autonomous operations, to reduce the complexity for operators, as well as for fully autonomous operations. The approach was validated in simulation, comparing the implementation performance of two controller types.