Hello all,
First thanks for great software! I have discovered it only recently, while searching for vehicle turning material, but it has a lot of other great features...
I am trying to develop vehicle turning solution (similar to what you have), which should work also in real-time (like driving a car). It doesn't need all the options that you have, just driving at low speed with predefined vehicle dimensions.
I have handled driving single vehicle (and single vehicle with trailer (without dolly)).
Problem arises when we have this "transition" period, when rotation points are different. For example, starting from straight line and then turning.
After exploring internet and reviewing dozens of documents i have found online, it was made clear to me that this topic is quite complex. What i need at least is approximation, but all these papers describe mostly theory part, with formulas for n-trailer systems, which need to be solved for specific cases - and this requires a lot of mechanical engineering knowledge (and i am software engineer, thus this is out of my scope).
In short:
What i am hoping is pointing me in good direction, maybe some materials with formulas (or explanation) on how to approximate trailer moving path (in "transition" period - centre of rotation points are different) in truck-trailer system (1 trailer at least, 2 trailers would be the best!). Approach that i have used is to move a vehicle 10cm or less, in which steering is constant (with speed, if it is important), and to calculate new positions.
Thanks,
Miki