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vector_pursuit_controller

  • Software
  • Navigation and mapping
  • Library

A ROS2 Humble plugin for the Nav2 Controller Server that tracks paths using the Vector Pursuit algorithm, based on screw theory, aiming for accurate path following.

Made by Black Coffee Robotics, India (checked on github.com/blackcoffeerobotics (opens in a new tab)).

Source on GitHub: github.com/blackcoffeerobotics/vector_pursuit_controller (opens in a new tab). Facts read at commit 0a8b8ee (opens in a new tab).

Licenses

Code
Apache-2.0 (opens in a new tab)

Read by Robotheca from LICENSE (opens in a new tab) (Apache-2.0) at commit 0a8b8ee (opens in a new tab), on 16 Oct 2026.

Commercial use
Yes

What it does

  • Implements Vector Pursuit path tracking, which uses both the location and orientation of the look-ahead point while staying geometrically meaningful.
  • Aims to replace Pure Pursuit where path following accuracy matters most.
  • Adds collision-aware linear velocity that scales down near obstacles and halts when a collision is imminent.
  • Adds approach-aware velocity scaling near the goal to prevent overshoot.
  • Adds on-point rotation when the target heading differs from the current heading by a configurable angle.
  • Offers optional reversing when the look-ahead point lies behind the robot, plus an adaptive look-ahead distance based on linear velocity.

Written by Robotheca from the project's README (opens in a new tab) at commit 0a8b8ee.

Getting started

Difficulty
Intermediate
Hardware it needs, as the project states it
Consumes about 15% of a single core on an ARM Cortex-A72 CPU at 1.8GHz, and is designed to track paths at speeds up to 4.5m/s.

Maintenance

Status
Active: a commit in the last 90 days
Newest commit
5 Oct 2026 on master
Latest release
None published on GitHub

Checked on GitHub on 16 Oct 2026.

Links

Robots that can run it

No robot on Robotheca is linked to it yet. Links come from a robot's robot.yaml, from its dependency files read as text, or from Robotheca's editors.

Robotheca lists software as a reference: nothing is hosted or run here, and every fact links to where it was read.