Full-scale testing of a novel slip control braking system for heavy vehicles

This paper summarises the measured emergency braking performance of a tri-axle heavy goods vehicle semitrailer fitted with a novel pneumatic slip control braking system developed by the Cambridge Vehicle Dynamics Consortium. Straight-line braking tests were carried out from 40 km/h in order to compare a commercially electro-pneumatic available anti-lock braking system and the Cambridge Vehicle Dynamics Consortium system, which has bi-stable valves coupled with a sliding-mode slip controller. On average, the Cambridge Vehicle Dynamics Consortium system reduced the stopping distance and the air use by 15% and 22% respectively compared with those for the conventional anti-lock braking system. The most significant improvements were seen on a wet basalt-tile surface (with similar friction properties to ice) where the stopping distance and the air use were improved by 17% and 30% respectively. A third performance metric, namely the mean absolute slip error, is introduced to quantify the ability of each braking system to track a wheel slip demand. Using this metric, the bi-stable valve system is shown to improve the wheel slip demand tracking by 62% compared with that of the conventional anti-lock braking system. This improvement potentially allows more accurate control of the wheel forces during extreme manoeuvres, providing scope for the future development of advanced stability control systems. This work was supported by Haldex Brake Products Ltd, the New Zealand Tertiary Education Commission and the Cambridge Vehicle Dynamics Consortium (CVDC).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Sage via http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095440701560480

Unmanned Robotic Systems and Applications

This book presents recent studies of unmanned robotic systems and their applications. With its five chapters, the book brings together important contributions from renowned international researchers. Unmanned autonomous robots are ideal candidates for applications such as rescue missions, especially in areas that are difficult to access. Swarm robotics (multiple robots working together) is another exciting application of the unmanned robotics systems, for example, coordinated search by an interconnected group of moving robots for the purpose of finding a source of hazardous emissions. These robots can behave like individuals working in a group without a centralized control

Advances in Mechanical Systems Dynamics 2020

The fundamentals of mechanical system dynamics were established before the beginning of the industrial era. The 18th century was a very important time for science and was characterized by the development of classical mechanics. This development progressed in the 19th century, and new, important applications related to industrialization were found and studied. The development of computers in the 20th century revolutionized mechanical system dynamics owing to the development of numerical simulation. We are now in the presence of the fourth industrial revolution. Mechanical systems are increasingly integrated with electrical, fluidic, and electronic systems, and the industrial environment has become characterized by the cyber-physical systems of industry 4.0. Within this framework, the status-of-the-art has become represented by integrated mechanical systems and supported by accurate dynamic models able to predict their dynamic behavior. Therefore, mechanical systems dynamics will play a central role in forthcoming years. This Special Issue aims to disseminate the latest research findings and ideas in the field of mechanical systems dynamics, with particular emphasis on novel trends and applications

PAC: A Novel Self-Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Controller for Micro Aerial Vehicles

There exists an increasing demand for a flexible and computationally efficient controller for micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) due to a high degree of environmental perturbations. In this work, an evolving neuro-fuzzy controller, namely Parsimonious Controller (PAC) is proposed. It features fewer network parameters than conventional approaches due to the absence of rule premise parameters. PAC is built upon a recently developed evolving neuro-fuzzy system known as parsimonious learning machine (PALM) and adopts new rule growing and pruning modules derived from the approximation of bias and variance. These rule adaptation methods have no reliance on user-defined thresholds, thereby increasing the PAC's autonomy for real-time deployment. PAC adapts the consequent parameters with the sliding mode control (SMC) theory in the single-pass fashion. The boundedness and convergence of the closed-loop control system's tracking error and the controller's consequent parameters are confirmed by utilizing the LaSalle-Yoshizawa theorem. Lastly, the controller's efficacy is evaluated by observing various trajectory tracking performance from a bio-inspired flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle (BI-FWMAV) and a rotary wing micro aerial vehicle called hexacopter. Furthermore, it is compared to three distinctive controllers. Our PAC outperforms the linear PID controller and feed-forward neural network (FFNN) based nonlinear adaptive controller. Compared to its predecessor, G-controller, the tracking accuracy is comparable, but the PAC incurs significantly fewer parameters to attain similar or better performance than the G-controller.Comment: This paper has been accepted for publication in Information Science Journal 201

Modeling, analysis and non-linear control of a novel pneumatic semi-active vibration isolator: a concept validation study

Advanced suspension systems play a crucial role in the performance of vehicles. The essential problem in designing a vibration isolator for a system comprises of controlling the relative motion between the suspended mass and the base due to stroke limitations, while attenuating the vibration transmitted to the mass from the base. These two requirements being conflicting in nature results in a compromised suspension design when purely passive isolation technologies are employed. Active vibration isolation systems which totally eliminated this compromise have cost, maintenance and reliability issues precluding them from being used in many applications. Semi-active technologies on the other hand provide feasible alternative to the active systems, but employ oil based dampers, which deteriorates the performance over a wide range of operating regime.;The thesis presents a novel semi-active pneumatic vibration isolation technology, which is capable of alleviating the drawbacks of both the contemporary active and the semi-active systems currently being researched. The pneumatic system proposed was shown to have the capability to continuously alter its natural frequency and damping characteristics (CVNFD) without needing either a hydraulic actuator or oil based variable damping device. The computational study based on the non-linear mathematical model developed showed the CVNFD behavior of the pneumatic system and the experiments conducted on the research test-rig corroborated the result.;Two non-linear control schemes in the form of Skyhook control and sliding mode control were used to synthesize controllers for the pneumatic system. A modified skyhook control was derived and implemented on the pneumatic system. The performance of this controller was shown to rival that obtained for a conventional semi-active system using the Magneto-Rhealogical (MR) damper and controlled by skyhook control. A more advanced non-linear robust control scheme called sliding mode control was used for the second controller design. The controller was synthesized using the sliding mode control theory applied to the theory of model-matching. Lyapunov stability analysis was applied and the sliding mode controller was modified to guarantee global asymptotic stability. It was demonstrated computationally as well as experimentally that by suitably choosing the several controller design-parameters, the skyhook based sliding mode controller can recover the performance lost by implementing the model independent skyhook law.;In summary, the research conducted in this thesis demonstrated the availability and feasibility of a new and novel semi-active pneumatic vibration isolation technology that can replace and/or enhance the performance of contemporary passive and semi-active systems

Trajectory Tracking Control of Skid-Steering Mobile Robots with Slip and Skid Compensation using Sliding-Mode Control and Deep Learning

Slip and skid compensation is crucial for mobile robots' navigation in outdoor environments and uneven terrains. In addition to the general slipping and skidding hazards for mobile robots in outdoor environments, slip and skid cause uncertainty for the trajectory tracking system and put the validity of stability analysis at risk. Despite research in this field, having a real-world feasible online slip and skid compensation is still challenging due to the complexity of wheel-terrain interaction in outdoor environments. This paper presents a novel trajectory tracking technique with real-world feasible online slip and skid compensation at the vehicle-level for skid-steering mobile robots in outdoor environments. The sliding mode control technique is utilized to design a robust trajectory tracking system to be able to consider the parameter uncertainty of this type of robot. Two previously developed deep learning models [1], [2] are integrated into the control feedback loop to estimate the robot's slipping and undesired skidding and feed the compensator in a real-time manner. The main advantages of the proposed technique are (1) considering two slip-related parameters rather than the conventional three slip parameters at the wheel-level, and (2) having an online real-world feasible slip and skid compensator to be able to reduce the tracking errors in unforeseen environments. The experimental results show that the proposed controller with the slip and skid compensator improves the performance of the trajectory tracking system by more than 27%

Nonlinear Modeling and Control of Driving Interfaces and Continuum Robots for System Performance Gains

With the rise of (semi)autonomous vehicles and continuum robotics technology and applications, there has been an increasing interest in controller and haptic interface designs. The presence of nonlinearities in the vehicle dynamics is the main challenge in the selection of control algorithms for real-time regulation and tracking of (semi)autonomous vehicles. Moreover, control of continuum structures with infinite dimensions proves to be difficult due to their complex dynamics plus the soft and flexible nature of the manipulator body. The trajectory tracking and control of automobile and robotic systems requires control algorithms that can effectively deal with the nonlinearities of the system without the need for approximation, modeling uncertainties, and input disturbances. Control strategies based on a linearized model are often inadequate in meeting precise performance requirements. To cope with these challenges, one must consider nonlinear techniques. Nonlinear control systems provide tools and methodologies for enabling the design and realization of (semi)autonomous vehicle and continuum robots with extended specifications based on the operational mission profiles. This dissertation provides an insight into various nonlinear controllers developed for (semi)autonomous vehicles and continuum robots as a guideline for future applications in the automobile and soft robotics field. A comprehensive assessment of the approaches and control strategies, as well as insight into the future areas of research in this field, are presented.First, two vehicle haptic interfaces, including a robotic grip and a joystick, both of which are accompanied by nonlinear sliding mode control, have been developed and studied on a steer-by-wire platform integrated with a virtual reality driving environment. An operator-in-the-loop evaluation that included 30 human test subjects was used to investigate these haptic steering interfaces over a prescribed series of driving maneuvers through real time data logging and post-test questionnaires. A conventional steering wheel with a robust sliding mode controller was used for all the driving events for comparison. Test subjects operated these interfaces for a given track comprised of a double lane-change maneuver and a country road driving event. Subjective and objective results demonstrate that the driver’s experience can be enhanced up to 75.3% with a robotic steering input when compared to the traditional steering wheel during extreme maneuvers such as high-speed driving and sharp turn (e.g., hairpin turn) passing. Second, a cellphone-inspired portable human-machine-interface (HMI) that incorporated the directional control of the vehicle as well as the brake and throttle functionality into a single holistic device will be presented. A nonlinear adaptive control technique and an optimal control approach based on driver intent were also proposed to accompany the mechatronic system for combined longitudinal and lateral vehicle guidance. Assisting the disabled drivers by excluding extensive arm and leg movements ergonomically, the device has been tested in a driving simulator platform. Human test subjects evaluated the mechatronic system with various control configurations through obstacle avoidance and city road driving test, and a conventional set of steering wheel and pedals were also utilized for comparison. Subjective and objective results from the tests demonstrate that the mobile driving interface with the proposed control scheme can enhance the driver’s performance by up to 55.8% when compared to the traditional driving system during aggressive maneuvers. The system’s superior performance during certain vehicle maneuvers and approval received from the participants demonstrated its potential as an alternative driving adaptation for disabled drivers. Third, a novel strategy is designed for trajectory control of a multi-section continuum robot in three-dimensional space to achieve accurate orientation, curvature, and section length tracking. The formulation connects the continuum manipulator dynamic behavior to a virtual discrete-jointed robot whose degrees of freedom are directly mapped to those of a continuum robot section under the hypothesis of constant curvature. Based on this connection, a computed torque control architecture is developed for the virtual robot, for which inverse kinematics and dynamic equations are constructed and exploited, with appropriate transformations developed for implementation on the continuum robot. The control algorithm is validated in a realistic simulation and implemented on a six degree-of-freedom two-section OctArm continuum manipulator. Both simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method could manage simultaneous extension/contraction, bending, and torsion actions on multi-section continuum robots with decent tracking performance (e.g. steady state arc length and curvature tracking error of 3.3mm and 130mm-1, respectively). Last, semi-autonomous vehicles equipped with assistive control systems may experience degraded lateral behaviors when aggressive driver steering commands compete with high levels of autonomy. This challenge can be mitigated with effective operator intent recognition, which can configure automated systems in context-specific situations where the driver intends to perform a steering maneuver. In this article, an ensemble learning-based driver intent recognition strategy has been developed. A nonlinear model predictive control algorithm has been designed and implemented to generate haptic feedback for lateral vehicle guidance, assisting the drivers in accomplishing their intended action. To validate the framework, operator-in-the-loop testing with 30 human subjects was conducted on a steer-by-wire platform with a virtual reality driving environment. The roadway scenarios included lane change, obstacle avoidance, intersection turns, and highway exit. The automated system with learning-based driver intent recognition was compared to both the automated system with a finite state machine-based driver intent estimator and the automated system without any driver intent prediction for all driving events. Test results demonstrate that semi-autonomous vehicle performance can be enhanced by up to 74.1% with a learning-based intent predictor. The proposed holistic framework that integrates human intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and vehicle control can help solve the driver-system conflict problem leading to safer vehicle operations

Extended grey wolf optimization–based adaptive fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode control of a robotic manipulator

This article proposes a novel hybrid metaheuristic technique based on nonsingular terminal sliding mode controller, time delay estimation method, an extended grey wolf optimization algorithm and adaptive super twisting control law. The fast convergence is assured by nonsingular terminal sliding mode controller owing to its inherent nonlinear property and no prior knowledge of the robot dynamics is required due to time delay estimation. The proposed extended grey wolf optimization algorithm determines an optimal approximation of the inertial matrix of the robot. Moreover, adaptive super twisting control based on the Lyapunov approach overcomes the disturbances and compensate the higher dynamics not achievable by the time delay estimation method. First, the fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode controller relying on time delay estimation is designed and is combined with super twisting control for chattering attenuation. The constant gain matrix of the time delay is determined by the proposed extended grey wolf optimization algorithm. Second, an adaptive law based on Lyapunov stability theorem is designed for improving tracking performance in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances. The novelty of the proposed method lies in the adaptive law where the prior knowledge of parametric uncertainties and disturbances is not needed. Moreover, the constant gain matrix of time delay estimation method is obtained using the proposed algorithm. The control method has been tested in simulation on a 3-degrees of freedom robotic manipulator in trajectory tracking mode in the presence of control disturbances and uncertainties. The results obtained confirmed the effectiveness, robustness and the superior precision of the proposed control method compared to the classical ones