Open-loop trajectory design for longitudinal vehicle maneuvers: case studies with design constraints

This work discusses the open-loop trajectory design for longitudinal vehicle maneuvers. It is shown that trajectory design can be formulated as an optimization problem. Optimal curves that minimize the selected quadratic penalty functions are solved with an approach utilizing the maximum principle. The proposed design approach is applied to several cases with design constraints. Problems with fixed and varying acceleration saturation are solved and reviewed. A problem with jerk constraints at boundary points is also discussed. The paper concludes with a parametric study of curve characteristics. A correlation between curve properties and penalty functions is established.