Best Response Model Predictive Control for Agile Interactions Between Autonomous Ground Vehicles

We introduce an algorithm for autonomous control of multiple fast ground vehicles operating in close proximity to each other. The algorithm is based on a combination of the game theoretic notion of iterated best response, and an information theoretic model predictive control algorithm designed for non-linear stochastic systems. We test the algorithm on two one-fifth scale AutoRally platforms traveling at speeds upwards of 8 meters per second, while maintaining a following distance of under two meters from bumper-to-bumper.