Tembhare, Nupur (Hochschule Augsburg), Markgraf, Carsten (University of Applied Sciences Augsburg), Ivanov, Ivo (Technische Hochschule Augsburg)

Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Coupling between Two Vehicles

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "S10b-Cooperative and Connected Autonomous Systems" (WE-EA-T10), Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 13:30−13:50, Cooleangata 4

2025 IEEE 28th International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), November 18-21, 2025, Gold Coast, Australia

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on October 19, 2025

Abstract

Vehicles traveling in a convoy formation with mechanical coupling offer enhanced safety, robustness, and energy efficiency for long-distance transportation. A critical component of this process is the autonomous coupling maneuver, where Model Predictive Control (MPC) plays a central role in guiding a chaser vehicle to a precise docking point. This paper presents a nonlinear MPC framework for autonomous mechanical coupling between two vehicles; one stationary (target) and the other actively navigating (chaser). Inspired by spacecraft docking techniques, the proposed approach incorporates cone and hyperplane constraints to enforce safe approach geometry and ensure soft, controlled convergence. The vehicle dynamics are modeled using a nonlinear kinematic model, and the MPC formulation includes state, input, and geometric constraints to guarantee feasibility throughout the maneuver. We have successfully validated the feasibility of our approach using different simulated coupling tasks.