RouteScouter

Calculate collision-free vehicle paths through tight spaces. Place start and goal, select obstacles, and RouteScouter finds the optimal route — complete with swept path visualization.

STARTobstacleGOAL

Overview

What does RouteScouter do?

RouteScouter calculates the path a vehicle takes between two positions, avoiding obstacles. It uses a Hybrid A* pathfinding algorithm with Reeds-Shepp curves to find the shortest collision-free route, then draws the swept path envelope.

🧭

Hybrid A* pathfinding

Finds optimal paths around obstacles using forward and reverse driving, with physically accurate vehicle kinematics.

📐

Swept path visualization

Draws the exact envelope of the vehicle body throughout the maneuver — essential for clearance verification.

🚛

Articulated vehicles

Full tractor + trailer support with proper kingpin kinematics. The trailer swept path follows real physics, not linear approximation.

✏️

Custom vehicles

Create your own vehicle profiles with exact dimensions, or use the built-in EU vehicle library.

Getting started

Three steps. That's all it takes.

Open the palette, select a vehicle, and hit calculate.

1

Open the RouteScouter palette from the CompanionBits ribbon tab.

2

Select a vehicle from the dropdown. Place two copies in your drawing: one at the start position, one at the goal.

3

Click ▶ Calculate Route and follow the selection prompts.

RouteScouter
Vehicle
Tractor-trailer (16.50m)▾
L: 16.50mW: 2.55mØ13.1m
Safety buffer30 cm
Prefer forwardDefault

CompanionBits

Step by step

Workflows

Everything you can do with RouteScouter.

The core workflow in four steps.

1
Select START
2
Select GOAL
3
Select obstacles
▶
Calculate

After selecting start and goal vehicles, RouteScouter shows green and blue overlays. The confirmation dialog lets you Go (calculate), Adjust (re-select obstacles), or Cancel.

💡 Tip: Press Enter

Use the Place vehicle button in the palette to correctly position vehicles.

  1. Click Place vehicle. Click a point for the rear axle position.
  2. Move the mouse to set the heading angle and click to confirm. For articulated vehicles, the trailer is automatically aligned.
💡 Tip: Use ORTHO (F8)

Obstacles can be any combination of Lines, Polylines, Arcs, and Circles.

  1. Click obstacles one by one. Each picked object immediately lights up with a thick red outline.
  2. The prompt shows the running count of selected obstacles.
  3. Press Enter when done. The confirmation dialog shows the total number of segments.
💡 Tip: Draw a closed polyline around the maneuvering area as a boundary — this works better than selecting individual wall segments.

Click the + button in the palette to open the vehicle editor.

  1. Choose between Rigid (single body) or Articulated (tractor + trailer).
  2. For rigid vehicles: total length, width, wheelbase, front/rear overhang, and turning diameter.
  3. For articulated vehicles: an additional trailer section appears with trailer length, width, wheelbase, rear overhang, and 5th wheel position.
  4. A live preview updates as you type, showing the vehicle silhouette.
💡 Tip: Vehicle dimensions are always entered in centimeters (turning diameter in meters).

RouteScouter auto-detects your drawing units from the AutoCAD INSUNITS variable.

  1. Supported units: Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters, Inches, Feet, Decimeters, and Yards.
  2. If INSUNITS is wrong or set to 'Unitless', use the Drawing units dropdown in the palette to override it manually.
Drawing units: mm (INSUNITS, scale=10)
💡 Tip: If your vehicle appears too small or too large, the drawing units are probably wrong.

The safety buffer adds a clearance margin around the vehicle during collision checking.

  1. Set it in the palette with the slider (0–100 cm).
  2. A buffer of 30 cm is a reasonable default. For tight maneuvering areas, try 15–20 cm.
💡 Tip: The buffer applies to both tractor and trailer for articulated vehicles.

Two sliders let you influence how the solver plans the route.

Prefer forward — Controls how much the solver avoids reversing. At None, forward and reverse are equally cheap. At Max, the solver strongly avoids reverse segments even if the path is longer.
Avoid dir. changes — Penalizes direction switches. Higher values produce smoother paths with fewer back-and-forth maneuvers.
💡 Tip: For loading docks, keep both at Default. For driveways or public roads, increase both for smoother paths.

RouteScouter automatically escalates through five search levels until a path is found. You don't need to configure anything.

Fast<1 second — tries the quickest route first
Normal~2 seconds — explores more options
Thorough~5 seconds — tight spaces
Maximum~10–30 seconds — complex obstacles
Exhaustiveminutes — last resort, blind search

The progress window shows the current level and a Cancel button. If no path is found at the fastest level, the solver automatically moves to the next.

💡 Tip: Most routes are found within the first two levels.

Vehicles

Built-in vehicles

11 EU-standard vehicles ready to use. All dimensions verified against manufacturer specifications and EU Directive 96/53/EC.

VehicleLengthTurning ØType
Passenger car4.80mØ11.0mRigid
Delivery van5.90mØ12.4mRigid
Rigid truck 2-axle8.50mØ16.0mRigid
Refuse truck9.00mØ18.0mRigid
Fire engine10.00mØ17.0mRigid
Rigid truck 3-axle10.50mØ20.0mRigid
Transit bus12.00mØ21.0mRigid
Container 20ft11.80mØ13.1mArticulated
Tanker truck14.00mØ13.1mArticulated
Tractor-trailer16.50mØ13.1mArticulated
Container 40ft16.50mØ13.1mArticulated

Pro tips

Tips & tricks

Get the most out of RouteScouter.

→The swept path is drawn on a separate layer (ROUTEFIT) so you can easily toggle visibility or change colors.
→Start and goal ghost vehicles are drawn at the endpoints of each calculation — useful for visual verification.
→For articulated vehicles without obstacles, the solver still uses the full 4D pathfinding algorithm to ensure the trailer reaches the correct heading at the goal.
→Vehicle blocks are named ROUTEFIT_[VehicleName]. You can copy them between drawings.
→The solver guarantees that both tractor and trailer arrive within 1° of the goal heading. This precision is stricter than manual steering in competing tools.

Ready to get started?

Try RouteScouter free for 14 days — no credit card required.

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