Optimal feedback velocity profile generation for a vehicle with given acceleration limits: A level set implementation

Abstract

In this paper, we use level set methods to numerically generate the minimum-time optimal velocity profiles for a vehicle with given acceleration limits driving along a specified path. The proposed approach solves the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation associated with the given optimal control problem by computing the level sets of the value function. Once the optimal cost is found, the optimal feedback control can be computed online thus generating the velocity profile quickly. The results are compared to a semi-analytic approach that was developed recently for the same problem by the last two authors.