carlike

Carlike is an adjective used to describe something that resembles a car in form, function, or behavior. The term is common in engineering and robotics where it signals vehicle-like motion or dynamics, as well as objects shaped like cars.

Etymology and usage: Derived from car + -like, the word is typically written car-like in technical writing, though you may see carlike in informal contexts. It appears most often in discussions of mobile robotics, vehicle dynamics, simulation, and design where car-type behavior or shape is relevant.

In robotics and control theory, a car-like model describes a mobile robot whose motion is constrained by nonholonomic conditions: it cannot move directly sideways, and its instantaneous velocity is determined by steering angle and forward speed. The bicycle or unicycle models are common abstractions of car-like motion and are used in path planning, control design, and simulation for autonomous vehicles and driver-assistance systems.

In broader contexts, car-like can describe any object or system that mimics car behavior or is shaped like a car, though the term is less precise outside technical domains.

See also: nonholonomic constraint, bicycle model, unicycle model, autonomous vehicle, vehicle dynamics.