Knowing when and how to rotate object

Question

The CSV below gives me the x,z coordinates of a car with id = 1 at a given time t in seconds.

I am able to update the car gameobject's transform position at each second just fine. The issue is that when the car's direction changes, I need to be able to rotate (or realistically turn) the car to make it point in the direction it's going. I'm trying to do this with a simple Lerp rotation for now (and then use the standard asset CarController script to make a turn more realistic afterwards).

The current issue I'm having is knowing when the car is turning and how to conclude which direction it's going in, and therefore which way to rotate it. How could I go about this?

t,id,x,z
908,1,0.00,755.17
909,1,-1.50,732.50
910,1,-1.50,715.84
911,1,-1.50,699.17
912,1,-1.50,682.50
913,1,-1.50,679.19
914,1,-1.50,679.19
915,1,-1.50,679.19
916,1,-1.50,653.52
917,1,-1.50,636.85
918,1,-1.50,620.19
919,1,-1.50,603.52
920,1,-1.50,586.85
921,1,-1.50,570.19
922,1,-1.50,553.52
923,1,-1.50,536.85
924,1,-1.50,521.94
925,1,-1.50,521.94
926,1,-1.50,521.94
927,1,-1.50,521.94
928,1,-1.50,521.94
929,1,-1.50,521.94
930,1,-1.50,521.94
931,1,-1.50,496.28
932,1,-1.50,479.61
933,1,-1.50,462.94
934,1,-1.50,446.28
935,1,-1.50,429.61
936,1,-1.50,412.94
937,1,-1.50,396.28
938,1,-1.50,379.61
939,1,-1.50,378.74
940,1,-1.50,378.74
941,1,-1.50,378.74
942,1,-1.50,378.74
943,1,-1.50,378.74
944,1,-1.50,378.74
945,1,-1.50,378.74
946,1,-1.50,350.07
947,1,-1.50,333.40
948,1,-1.50,316.74
949,1,-1.50,300.07
950,1,-1.50,283.40
951,1,-1.50,266.74
952,1,-1.50,250.07
953,1,-1.50,233.40
954,1,-1.50,232.39
955,1,-1.50,232.39
956,1,-1.50,232.39
957,1,-1.50,232.39
958,1,-1.50,232.39
959,1,-4.50,209.72
960,1,-4.50,193.05
961,1,-4.50,176.39
962,1,-4.50,159.72
963,1,-4.50,143.05
964,1,-4.50,126.39
965,1,-4.50,109.72
966,1,-4.50,93.05
967,1,-4.50,76.39
968,1,-4.50,59.72
969,1,-4.50,43.05
970,1,-4.50,26.39
971,1,-4.50,9.72
972,1,-4.50,6.00
973,1,-4.50,6.00
974,1,-4.50,6.00
975,1,-4.50,6.00
976,1,-4.50,6.00
977,1,-4.50,6.00
978,1,-4.50,6.00
979,1,-4.50,6.00
980,1,-4.50,6.00
981,1,-4.50,6.00
982,1,-4.50,6.00
983,1,-4.50,6.00
984,1,28.22,-4.50
985,1,49.25,-4.50
986,1,69.00,-4.50
987,1,87.67,-4.50
988,1,105.12,-4.50
989,1,121.45,-4.50
990,1,136.32,-4.50
991,1,149.74,-4.50
992,1,161.36,-4.50
993,1,171.13,-4.50
994,1,179.02,-4.50
995,1,185.12,-4.50
996,1,189.57,-4.50
997,1,192.60,-4.50
998,1,194.49,-4.50
999,1,195.56,-4.50
1000,1,196.11,-4.50
1001,1,196.37,-4.50
1002,1,196.48,-4.50
1003,1,196.54,-4.50
1004,1,196.54,-4.50
1005,1,196.60,-4.50
1006,1,196.60,-4.50
1007,1,197.25,-4.50
1008,1,198.58,-4.50
1009,1,200.53,-4.50
1010,1,200.53,-4.50
1011,1,201.35,-4.50
1012,1,201.45,-4.50
1013,1,202.27,-4.50
1014,1,202.27,-4.50
1015,1,202.60,-4.50
1016,1,202.60,-4.50
1017,1,202.60,-4.50
1018,1,202.60,-4.50
1019,1,202.60,-4.50
1020,1,202.60,-4.50
1021,1,202.60,-4.50
1022,1,202.60,-4.50
1023,1,202.60,-4.50
1024,1,202.60,-4.50
1025,1,202.60,-4.50
1026,1,202.60,-4.50
1027,1,202.60,-4.50
1028,1,202.60,-4.50
1029,1,202.60,-4.50
1030,1,202.60,-4.50
1031,1,202.60,-4.50
1032,1,202.60,-4.50
1033,1,202.60,-4.50
1034,1,202.60,-4.50
1035,1,203.32,-4.50
1036,1,204.85,-4.50
1037,1,206.85,-4.50
1038,1,206.98,-4.50
1039,1,207.90,-4.50
1040,1,207.90,-4.50
1041,1,208.48,-4.50
1042,1,208.48,-4.50
1043,1,208.48,-4.50
1044,1,208.48,-4.50
1045,1,208.48,-4.50
1046,1,208.48,-4.50
1047,1,208.48,-4.50
1048,1,208.48,-4.50
1049,1,208.48,-4.50
1050,1,208.48,-4.50
1051,1,208.48,-4.50
1052,1,208.48,-4.50
1053,1,208.48,-4.50
1054,1,208.48,-4.50
1055,1,209.48,-4.50
1056,1,211.48,-4.50
1057,1,214.45,-4.50
1058,1,214.45,-4.50
1059,1,214.45,-4.50
1060,1,214.45,-4.50
1061,1,214.45,-4.50
1062,1,214.45,-4.50
1063,1,214.45,-4.50
1064,1,214.45,-4.50
1065,1,214.45,-4.50
1066,1,242.67,-1.50
1067,1,264.63,-1.50
1068,1,286.36,-1.50
1069,1,307.90,-1.50
1070,1,329.29,-1.50
1071,1,350.45,-1.50
1072,1,371.40,-1.50
1073,1,392.12,-1.50
1074,1,412.58,-1.50
1075,1,432.75,-1.50
1076,1,452.60,-1.50
1077,1,472.06,-1.50
1078,1,491.06,-1.50
1079,1,509.51,-1.50
1080,1,527.29,-1.50
1081,1,544.25,-1.50
1082,1,560.23,-1.50
1083,1,575.01,-1.50
1084,1,588.37,-1.50
1085,1,600.11,-1.50
1086,1,610.06,-1.50
1087,1,618.16,-1.50
1088,1,624.44,-1.50
1089,1,629.05,-1.50
1090,1,632.22,-1.50
1091,1,634.21,-1.50
1092,1,635.36,-1.50
1093,1,635.95,-1.50
1094,1,636.23,-1.50
1095,1,636.35,-1.50
1096,1,636.42,-1.50
1097,1,636.42,-1.50
1098,1,636.48,-1.50
1099,1,636.48,-1.50
1100,1,636.48,-1.50
1101,1,637.48,-1.50
1102,1,639.48,-1.50
1103,1,642.45,-1.50

Answer 1

Note that there is a follow-up question here: Unity: turning a car realistically given target point and direction

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The problem is, as I understand:

• We are given a series of object positions at particular times
• The desired output is the set of vectors which describe the direction the object is facing, given the constraint that the object is facing in the direction of its current motion.

That's straightforward to compute, but a caution first. It does not always look realistic for a vehicle to be pointing in the direction that it is currently moving, particularly if it is turning. Cars skid and drift when turning sharply. Airplanes and rockets maneuver precisely by pointing themselves in the direction that they are not moving and producing thrust. Sailboats are incapable of pointing in the direction they are moving unless they are moving dead downwind. And so on. You might find that you need a more nuanced approach, but walk before you run.

But determining the velocity vector is straightforward. Velocity is the first time derivative of position, and you have position and time.

The simplest thing to do is to take the "current" position and the "next" position, subtract them, and divide by the time difference:

  t, id,     x,      z
908,  1,  0.00, 755.17
909,  1, -1.50, 732.50

Subtract the first from the second to get the deltas:

  t, id, Δt,    Δx,     Δz
908,  1,  1, -1.50, -22.67

Velocity is distance divided by time, so the velocity vector v_average is (Δx/Δt, Δz/Δt), so that's the direction you should point your car.

• Exercise: Can you compute the acceleration vectors at each point? Acceleration is the second derivative of position with respect to time. The third is "jerk", because we perceive a sudden change in acceleration as a "jerky" movement; can you compute it?

• Exercise: Suppose you are given an initial position and a time series of velocities; can you go the other way, and produce the positions from the velocities?

• Exercise: Suppose your object has a particular mass, and you are given an initial position, an initial velocity, and a time series of force vectors. Can you compute the velocities and positions? (Hint: what does Newton tell us about the relationship between force, mass and acceleration?)

• Exercise: Rockets in space point in the direction they are accelerating, not the direction they are moving. But rockets in space are frictionless, and cars only work because there is friction against the road, so cars tend to point in the direction they are moving. A car that loses traction need not be pointing in the direction it is moving. Can you come up with a model for determining when a car loses traction?