Fuzzy Logic and Neural Network Control Systems for Backing up a Truck and a Trailer

Today, computer control systems have achieved a highest position of their applicability through large scale industries to smaller activities such as controlling a movement of an object. Especially many researches are being carried out to develop control systems to automate the movements of vehicles as it is performed by a human being. This paper presents control systems to control the backing up motion of a truck and trailer vehicle into a particular location such as a loading dock. Salient feature of these systems is that it can be applied to any vehicle system which has a trailer attached to it. Two separate control systems are used to achieve the desired goal. In the first approach, the system uses fuzzy logic while the second approach uses an artificial neural network for the same purpose. The proposed controllers are tested for different initial positions and orientations of the truck and the trailer using a simulation model implemented with the MATLAB tool boxes. Comparisons of the results obtained are also presented. Under the conditions considered for the simulation it is observed that the fuzzy logic based control system is capable of controlling the vehicle within a larger area than that of the neural network based control system.