Design of a feedback-feedforward steering controller for accurate path tracking and stability at the limits of handling

This paper presents a feedback-feedforward steering controller that simultaneously maintains vehicle stability at the limits of handling while minimising lateral path tracking deviation. The design begins by considering the performance of a baseline controller with a lookahead feedback scheme and a feedforward algorithm based on a nonlinear vehicle handling diagram. While this initial design exhibits desirable stability properties at the limits of handling, the steady-state path deviation increases significantly at highway speeds. Results from both linear and nonlinear analyses indicate that lateral path tracking deviations are minimised when vehicle sideslip is held tangent to the desired path at all times. Analytical results show that directly incorporating this sideslip tangency condition into the steering feedback dramatically improves lateral path tracking, but at the expense of poor closed-loop stability margins. However, incorporating the desired sideslip behaviour into the feedforward loop creates a robust steering controller capable of accurate path tracking and oversteer correction at the physical limits of tyre friction. Experimental data collected from an Audi TTS test vehicle driving at the handling limits on a full length race circuit demonstrates the improved performance of the final controller design.     

A tyre slip-based integrated chassis control of front/rear traction distribution and four-wheel independent brake from moderate driving to limit handling

This paper presents a tyre slip-based integrated chassis control of front/rear traction distribution and four-wheel braking for enhanced performance from moderate driving to limit handling. The proposed algorithm adopted hierarchical structure: supervisor – desired motion tracking controller – optimisation-based control allocation. In the supervisor, by considering transient cornering characteristics, desired vehicle motion is calculated. In the desired motion tracking controller, in order to track desired vehicle motion, virtual control input is determined in the manner of sliding mode control. In the control allocation, virtual control input is allocated to minimise cost function. The cost function consists of two major parts. First part is a slip-based tyre friction utilisation quantification, which does not need a tyre force estimation. Second part is an allocation guideline, which guides optimally allocated inputs to predefined solution. The proposed algorithm has been investigated via simulation from moderate driving to limit handling scenario. Compared to Base and direct yaw moment control system, the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce tyre dissipation energy in the moderate driving situation. Moreover, the proposed algorithm enhances limit handling performance compared to Base and direct yaw moment control system. In addition to comparison with Base and direct yaw moment control, comparison the proposed algorithm with the control algorithm based on the known tyre force information has been conducted. The results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm is similar with that of the control algorithm with the known tyre force information.     

基于变权重系数的分布式驱动无人车轨迹跟踪

为了提高分布式无人车轨迹跟踪的精度，提出了基于自主与差动协调转向控制的轨迹跟踪方法。首先，在车辆三自由度模型基础上，基于模型预测控制（MPC）实时计算前轮转角以控制车辆进行自主转向轨迹跟踪。在此过程中，为了提高自主转向下车辆的轨迹跟踪精度与行驶的稳定性，考虑多种因素，利用经验公式及神经网络控制对MPC的预瞄步数和预瞄步长进行多参数调整，实现预瞄时间的自适应控制。其次，在恒转矩需求的情况下，以轨迹偏差为PID控制器的输入及左右轮毂电机转矩为输出进行差动转向控制，实现了差动转向下的轨迹跟踪控制。然后，通过设置权重系数的方法将自主与差动转向相结合。考虑到车辆横纵向动力学因素，采用模糊控制及经验公式对权重系数进行了调整，从而在提高车辆转向灵活性与轨迹跟踪效果的同时保证车辆行驶的稳定性。CarSim与Simulink联合仿真以及实车试验结果表明：与自主转向轨迹跟踪相比，采用变权重系数的协调控制可以在不同的工况下提高车辆的转向灵活性与轨迹跟踪的精度，轨迹跟踪偏差的均方根值改善率达到了11%。所提出的协调转向控制方法可为分布式驱动车辆转向灵活性的提高及轨迹跟踪精度的改善提供一种新的思路。     

Modified lateral control of an autonomous vehicle by look-ahead and look-down sensing

This paper presents a modified lateral control method for an autonomous vehicle with both look-ahead and look-down sensing systems. To cope with sensor noise and modeling uncertainty in the lateral control of the vehicle, a modified LMI-based H lateral controller was proposed, which uses the look-ahead information of the lateral offset error measured at the front of vehicle and the look-down information of the vehicle yaw angle error between the reference lane and the centerline of the vehicle. To verify the safety and the performance of the lateral control, a scaled-down vehicle was developed, and the positioning of the vehicle was estimated with USAT. The proposed controller, which uses both look-ahead and look-down information, was tested for lane changing and reference lane tracking with both simulation and experiment. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed controller has better tracking and handling performance compared with a controller that uses only the look-ahead information of the target heading angle error.     

Emergency steering control of autonomous vehicle for collision avoidance and stabilisation

ABSTRACT

Collision avoidance and stabilisation are two of the most crucial concerns when an autonomous vehicle finds itself in emergency situations, which usually occur in a short time horizon and require large actuator inputs, together with highly nonlinear tyre cornering response. In order to avoid collision while stabilising autonomous vehicle under dynamic driving situations at handling limits, this paper proposes a novel emergency steering control strategy based on hierarchical control architecture consisting of decision-making layer and motion control layer. In decision-making layer, a dynamic threat assessment model continuously evaluates the risk associated with collision and destabilisation, and a path planner based on kinematics and dynamics of vehicle system determines a collision-free path when it suddenly encounters emergency scenarios. In motion control layer, a lateral motion controller considering nonlinearity of tyre cornering response and unknown external disturbance is designed using tyre lateral force estimation-based backstepping sliding-mode control to track a collision-free path, and to ensure the robustness and stability of the closed-loop system. Both simulation and experiment results show that the proposed control scheme can effectively perform an emergency collision avoidance manoeuvre while maintaining the stability of autonomous vehicle in different running conditions.     

基于高精地图的物流配送车路径规划与跟踪控制

为了解决园区等场景下无人车多途经点配送问题,提出了一种基于矢量化高精地图的车道级全局路径规划、生成和跟踪控制方法。考虑配送车往返途经点顺序对行驶路径总长度的影响,基于高精地图采用A*算法计算各配送点间的最优路径,在此基础上,利用动态规划算法求解经过多个配送点的全局最优路径。应用贝塞尔曲线对规划的路径进行平滑,并根据道路曲率设定不同路径处的参考行驶速度,进而生成车道级的可用于跟踪的目标轨迹。利用车辆二自由度模型设计模型预测控制器进行轨迹跟踪,实现低速物流配送车的自主控制。在 CarSim/Prescan/Simulink联合仿真平台和实车平台上对提出的规划控制方法进行了试验。结果表明,相比传统的依据最近配送点策略确定的路径,所提出的方法搜索出的路径长度平均缩短了 6.15%。所设计的轨迹跟踪控制器能确保配送试验车与目标轨迹的横向偏差在 0.25 m 以内,航向角偏差在5°以内。     

Lateral handling improvement with dynamic curvature control for an independent rear wheel drive EV

The integrated longitudinal and lateral dynamic motion control is important for four wheel independent drive (4WID) electric vehicles. Under critical driving conditions, direct yaw moment control (DYC) has been proved as effective for vehicle handling stability and maneuverability by implementing optimized torque distribution of each wheel, especially with independent wheel drive electric vehicles. The intended vehicle path upon driver steering input is heavily depending on the instantaneous vehicle speed, body side slip and yaw rate of a vehicle, which can directly affect the steering effort of driver. In this paper, we propose a dynamic curvature controller (DCC) by applying a the dynamic curvature of the path, derived from vehicle dynamic state variables; yaw rate, side slip angle, and speed of a vehicle. The proposed controller, combined with DYC and wheel longitudinal slip control, is to utilize the dynamic curvature as a target control parameter for a feedback, avoiding estimating the vehicle side-slip angle. The effectiveness of the proposed controller, in view of stability and improved handling, has been validated with numerical simulations and a series of experiments during cornering engaging a disturbance torque driven by two rear independent in-wheel motors of a 4WD micro electric vehicle.     

Designing a non-linear tracking controller for vehicle active suspension systems using an optimization process

In this paper, a new non-linear tracking controller for vehicle active suspension systems is analytically designed using an optimization process. The proposed scheme employs a realistic non-linear quarter-car model, which is composed of a hardening spring and a quadratic damping force. The control input is the external active suspension force and is determined by minimizing a performance index defined as a weighted combination of conflicting objectives, namely ride quality, handling performance and control energy. A linear skyhook model with standard parameters is used as the reference model to be tracked by the controller. The robustness of the proposed controller in the presence of modeling uncertainties is investigated. The performed analysis and the simulation results indicate that both vehicle ride comfort and handling performance can be improved using the minimum external force when the proposed non-linear controller is engaged with the model. Meanwhile, a compromise between different objectives and control energy can easily be made by regulating their respective weighting factors, which are the free parameters of the control law.     

Integrated control of ground vehicles dynamics via advanced terminal sliding mode control

An integrated vehicle dynamics control (IVDC) algorithm, developed for improving vehicle handling and stability under critical lateral motions, is discussed in this paper. The IVDC system utilises integral and nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode (NFTSM) control strategies and coordinates active front steering (AFS) and direct yaw moment control (DYC) systems. When the vehicle is in the normal driving situation, the AFS system provides handling enhancement. If the vehicle reaches its handling limit, both AFS and DYC are then integrated to ensure the vehicle stability. The major contribution of this paper is in improving the transient response of the vehicle yaw rate and sideslip angle tracking controllers by implementing advanced types of sliding mode strategies, namely integral terminal sliding mode and NFTSM, in the IVDC system. Simulation results demonstrate that the developed control algorithm for the IVDC system not only has strong robustness against uncertainties but also improves the transient response of the control system.     

A novel integrated chassis controller for full drive-by-wire vehicles

In this paper, a systematic design with multiple hierarchical layers is adopted in the integrated chassis controller for full drive-by-wire vehicles. A reference model and the optimal preview acceleration driver model are utilised in the driver control layer to describe and realise the driver's anticipation of the vehicle's handling characteristics, respectively. Both the sliding mode control and terminal sliding mode control techniques are employed in the vehicle motion control (MC) layer to determine the MC efforts such that better tracking performance can be attained. In the tyre force allocation layer, a polygonal simplification method is proposed to deal with the constraints of the tyre adhesive limits efficiently and effectively, whereby the load transfer due to both roll and pitch is also taken into account which directly affects the constraints. By calculating the motor torque and steering angle of each wheel in the executive layer, the total workload of four wheels is minimised during normal driving, whereas the MC efforts are maximised in extreme handling conditions. The proposed controller is validated through simulation to improve vehicle stability and handling performance in both open- and closed-loop manoeuvres.     

智能汽车路径跟踪精度及操纵稳定性耦合机理分析

针对现有智能汽车路径跟踪算法研究中存在的智能汽车路径跟踪精度与操纵稳定性相互耦合和相互制约问题,在车辆二自由度模型基础上,设计了基于传统预瞄误差模型的PID控制方法,研究了智能汽车在蛇形道路工况、定曲率变车速工况和定车速变曲率工况下,车速及道路曲率对智能汽车路径跟踪精度和操纵稳定性的影响。仿真结果表明,随着车速和道路曲率的增加,智能汽车路径跟踪精度以及操纵稳定性降低;智能汽车的路径跟踪精度提高,操纵稳定性变差。     

考虑驾驶人风格的换道轨迹规划与控制（双语出版）

基于自动换道控制技术中融合个性化驾驶人风格的研究,建立考虑驾驶人风格的车辆换道轨迹规划及控制模型以提高换道规划控制模型对不同风格驾驶人的适用性,在保证安全性的基础上进一步满足驾驶人的个性化需求。首先通过问卷调查的方式采集得到了212份驾驶人风格量表数据,采用主成分分析法和K均值（K-means）聚类分析法将驾驶人按驾驶风格分为激进型、普通型和谨慎型,并通过驾驶模拟器试验采集不同风格驾驶人分别在自车道前车、目标车道前车和目标车道后车影响下的换道行为数据。然后对椭圆车辆模型进行改进,以描述不同风格驾驶人的行车安全区域,并据此构建3种典型工况下不同风格驾驶人的换道最小安全距离模型,结合驾驶舒适性约束、车辆几何位置约束以及不同风格驾驶人的换道行为数据,以换道纵向位移最短为目标,实现适应驾驶人风格的换道轨迹规划。最后以基于预瞄的路径跟踪模型作为前馈量,设计基于动力学的线性二次型最优（LQR）反馈控制器,通过调节控制权重矩阵实现3种工况下不同驾驶人风格的换道轨迹跟踪。PreScan和MATLAB/Simulink联合仿真结果表明：所设计的考虑驾驶人风格的换道轨迹规划及跟踪控制模型能够实现不同驾驶风格的自动换道轨迹规划及跟踪控制,可满足驾驶人个性化换道需求。     

基于光电导航无人驾驶电动汽车自动寻迹控制系统研究

在轮毂电机驱动电动汽车技术的基础上,采用光电传感器自动辨识行驶路径,利用车辆行驶预瞄理论,开发了无人驾驶汽车自动寻迹行驶控制系统.试验表明,该系统稳定性好、控制精度高和响应速度快.     

智能分布式驱动汽车路径跟踪/制动能量回收协同控制策略研究

为了解决智能分布式驱动汽车路径跟踪与制动能量回收系统间的协同控制难题,充分考虑分布式驱动汽车四轮扭矩独立可控在智能驾驶系统中的优势,设计适应不同路面附着条件的智能分布式驱动汽车转向、制动分层协同控制策略。上层控制器依据不同的路面类型设计差异化的多目标代价函数,以综合优化各工况下的控制目标。高附路面下,制定满足最大能量回收值的全局参考车速,在线优化路径跟踪指令,实现最优能量回收的同时减小系统运算负荷;低附路面下,优先考虑车辆的路径跟踪性能和行驶稳定性,在多目标代价函数中取消对全局参考车速的跟随要求,增设终端速度约束与能量回收项性能指标并减小能量回收项性能指标的权重系数。上层控制器基于模型预测控制方法对多目标代价函数进行滚动优化与预测求解,得到期望的前轮转角及4个车轮的总制动扭矩需求。下层控制器根据制动扭矩需求对四轮的液压制动扭矩和电机制动扭矩进行分配,最终完成整个复合制动过程。基于MATLAB/Simulink和CarSim软件,搭建控制器在环仿真平台,并在高附和低附路面条件下对所提出的策略进行试验验证。研究结果表明：高附路面下,所提出的控制策略在准确跟踪期望路径的同时相较固定比例制动力分配方法可提升2.7%的能量回收值并减少约0.02 s的单次计算时间;低附路面下,与使用高附控制策略相比,能够保证车辆的路径跟踪准确性与行驶稳定性,同时可提升7.8%的能量回收值;控制器在环试验结果证明了该协同控制策略对车辆性能提升的有效性。     

无人驾驶电动游览车底盘集成控制研究

介绍了具有自动寻迹行驶和遥控行驶2种模式的无人驾驶电动游览车,该车采用光电传感器自动辨识行驶路径,自动完成寻迹行驶,且在自主行驶过程中通过超声波传感器探测技术自动检测障碍物信息,具有防碰撞功能,在底盘控制上实现了无人驾驶技术、轮毂电机驱动技术和线控转向技术以及防碰撞技术等的集成控制,对于实现车辆的智能驾驶具有重要意义。     

An optimal model-based trajectory following architecture synthesising the lateral adaptive preview strategy and longitudinal velocity planning for highly automated vehicle

Automated driving has received a broad of attentions from the academia and industry, since it is effective to greatly reduce the severity of potential traffic accidents and achieve the ultimate automobile safety and comfort. This paper presents an optimal model-based trajectory following architecture for highly automated vehicle in its driving tasks such as automated guidance or lane keeping, which includes a velocity-planning module, a steering controller and a velocity-tracking controller. The velocity-planning module considering the optimal time-consuming and passenger comforts simultaneously could generate a smooth velocity profile. The robust sliding mode control (SMC) steering controller with adaptive preview time strategy could not only track the target path well, but also avoid a big lateral acceleration occurred in its path-tracking progress due to a fuzzy-adaptive preview time mechanism introduced. In addition, an SMC controller with input–output linearisation method for velocity tracking is built and validated. Simulation results show this trajectory following architecture are effective and feasible for high automated driving vehicle, comparing with the Driver-in-the-Loop simulations performed by an experienced driver and novice driver, respectively. The simulation results demonstrate that the present trajectory following architecture could plan a satisfying longitudinal speed profile, track the target path well and safely when dealing with different road geometry structure, it ensures a good time efficiency and driving comfort simultaneously.     

FSAC赛车轨迹跟踪协同控制策略研究

针对中国大学生方程式赛车（FSAC）在比赛中横向-纵向协同控制的轨迹跟踪精度和稳定性问题,根据现代控制理论和经典控制理论提出一种以纵向速度为结合点的线性二次控制器（LQR）和比例-积分-微分算法（PID）的横纵向协同控制策略,并根据赛车相对参考轨迹的位置设计了一种协同控制器。建立二自由度车辆动力学模型,基于该模型设计了横向LQR位置跟踪控制器和纵向PID速度跟踪控制器。所设计的控制策略在CarSim和Simulink搭建的循迹工况联合仿真场景下进行仿真验证,仿真结果为纵向位置偏差小于0.07 m,横向位置偏差小于0.03 m。对控制算法进行实车验证,结果表明,该策略有效提高了赛车的轨迹跟踪精度和行驶稳定性。     

基于车辆动力学模型的换道轨迹规划研究

针对自动驾驶车辆换道轨迹规划时的操纵稳定性问题，基于CarSim/Simulink仿真平台建立了车辆动力学模型，构建了轨迹规划系统框架，通过轨迹信息后处理并提出了目标函数设计，进行了横向控制序列采样以保证车辆的稳定与极限性能，完成了算法对轨迹的综合评价选优。随后开展了仿真试验，对比分析了轨迹跟踪控制系统下的实际轨迹、最优规划方法所规划的换道轨迹。仿真结果表明，该轨迹规划系统框架及算法模型能有效提高车辆的操纵稳定性，可实现冰雪路面等极端工况下自动驾驶车辆换道轨迹规划。     

Robust yaw stability control for electric vehicles based on active front steering control through a steer-by-wire system

A robust yaw stability control design based on active front steering control is proposed for in-wheel-motored electric vehicles with a Steer-by-Wire (SbW) system. The proposed control system consists of an inner-loop controller (referred to in this paper as the steering angle-disturbance observer (SA-DOB), which rejects an input steering disturbance by feeding a compensation steering angle) and an outer-loop tracking controller (i.e., a PI-type tracking controller) to achieve control performance and stability. Because the model uncertainties, which include unmodeled high frequency dynamics and parameter variations, occur in a wide range of driving situations, a robust control design method is applied to the control system to simultaneously guarantee robust stability and robust performance of the control system. The proposed control algorithm was implemented in a CaSim model, which was designed to describe actual in-wheel-motored electric vehicles. The control performances of the proposed yaw stability control system are verified through computer simulations and experimental results using an experimental electric vehicle.     

复杂动态环境下智能汽车局部路径规划与跟踪算法研究

路径规划及路径跟踪控制是智能汽车研究的关键技术，而复杂、时变的交通环境给智能汽车的路径规划与跟踪提出严苛要求。针对现有局部路径规划方法只适用于较为简单的工况，无法应对多车道、多静/动态障碍等复杂工况的问题，提出一种基于离散优化思想的动态路径规划算法。该算法利用样条曲线曲率变化均匀的特性，在s-ρ曲线坐标系中生成了一组参数化候选路径簇；考虑动态碰撞安全影响，在碰撞带约束下结合道路法规限制及车辆动态安全要求，规划车辆速度；此外，综合考虑静态安全性、舒适性、目标车道、道路占用率等影响因素，以选择最优路径。在路径跟踪层面，基于预瞄理论设计鲁棒性好、跟踪精度高的分数阶PID路径跟踪控制器，以跟踪误差最小为目标，采用粒子群优化算法对分数阶PID控制器参数进行整定。最后，基于Simulink/CarSim建立联合仿真平台，设计多车道，多静/动态障碍的复杂工况以验证该算法的有效性。研究结果表明：由于在评价函数中引入动态安全评价指标、目标车道评价指标以及道路占用率指标，极大地提升了规划器性能，使车辆在行驶过程中根据驾驶环境自主调整速度，降低换道次数，从而保证智能汽车的主动安全性能，提升了通行效率，使该算法能够较好地处理复杂动态环境下的避障问题。