Adaptive speed planning and cooperative formation operation system for special-purpose vehicles in field environments

Abstract In complex off-road environments, traditional operations of special-purpose vehicles often suffer from limited terrain perception, restricted speed regulation, and low formation coordination efficiency. This study proposes a systematic framework for autonomous field operations. We first develop a multi-source perception and control architecture that integrates GNSS, LiDAR, vision sensing, and onboard computing into a hierarchical ‘perception-decision-control’ closed loop, enabling both precise single-vehicle operation and coordinated multi-vehicle tasks. To mitigate roll and vibration arising from terrain-speed mismatch, we introduce an adaptive speed-planning method driven by terrain frequency-domain features. In addition, an improved distributed model predictive control for cooperative formation operation is designed, leveraging a leader-follower scheme and an articulated-vehicle model to achieve stable formation maneuvering and high-accuracy task execution. The system has been deployed on vibroseis vehicles and validated in real-world geological exploration, demonstrating strong robustness and engineering feasibility. Its successful operation at the exploration bases of the China National Petroleum Corporation further confirms its reliability and practical value.