Autonomous Trailer Hitch Couple/Decouple

We know of no commercial system deployed that also automatically couples mechanical, electrical, and other facilities lines (air and hydraulic) from the vehicle to the trailer.  Actual mechanical, electrical, and facilities coupling are typically done by hand after proper coupling alignment and positioning has been achieved. In Phase I our approach to the problem will be to demonstrate two key development concepts.  The first will be sensing and closed loop backwards driving control to align tractor-coupling hook with the trailer-coupling hook.  This demonstrates a capability roughly equivalent to commercial automated backup systems and is well within the capabilities of Autonomous Ground Resupply (AGR) kits and trucks and therefore will be readily integrated into those systems as a software behavior.