Dual-envelop-oriented moving horizon path tracking control for fully automated vehicles

A novel description of dual-envelop-oriented path tracking issue is presented for fully automated vehicles which considers shape of vehicle as inner-envelop (I-ENV) and feasible road region as outer-envelop (O-ENV). Then implicit linear model predictive control (MPC) approach is proposed to design moving horizon path tracking controller in order to solve the situations that may cause collision and run out of road in traditional path tracking method. The proposed MPC controller employed varied sample time and varied prediction horizon and could deal with modelling error effectively. In order to specify the effectiveness of the proposed dual-envelop-oriented moving horizon path tracking method, veDYNA-Simulink joint simulations in different running conditions are carried out. The results illustrate that the proposed path tracking scheme performs well in tracking the desired path, and could increase path tracking precision effectively

Study of model predictive control for path-following autonomous ground vehicle control under crosswind effect

We present a comparative study of model predictive control approaches of two-wheel steering, four-wheel steering, and a combination of two-wheel steering with direct yaw moment control manoeuvres for path-following control in autonomous car vehicle dynamics systems. Single-track mode, based on a linearized vehicle and tire model, is used. Based on a given trajectory, we drove the vehicle at low and high forward speeds and on low and high road friction surfaces for a double-lane change scenario in order to follow the desired trajectory as close as possible while rejecting the effects of wind gusts. We compared the controller based on both simple and complex bicycle models without and with the roll vehicle dynamics for different types of model predictive control manoeuvres. The simulation result showed that the model predictive control gave a better performance in terms of robustness for both forward speeds and road surface variation in autonomous path-following control. It also demonstrated that model predictive control is useful to maintain vehicle stability along the desired path and has an ability to eliminate the crosswind effect

Modelling and Model Predictive Control of Power-Split Hybrid Powertrains for Self-Driving Vehicles

Designing an autonomous vehicle system architecture requires extensive vehicle simulation prior to its implementation on a vehicle. Simulation provides a controlled environment to test the robustness of an autonomous architecture in a variety of driving scenarios. In any autonomous vehicle project, high-fidelity modelling of the vehicle platform is important for accurate simulations. For power-split hybrid electric vehicles, modelling the powertrain for autonomous applications is particularly difficult. The mapping from accelerator and brake pedal positions to torque at the wheels can be a function of many states. Due to this complex powertrain behavior, it is challenging to develop vehicle dynamics control algorithms for autonomous power-split hybrid vehicles. The 2015 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is the selected vehicle platform of Autonomoose, the University of Waterloo’s autonomous vehicle project. Autonomoose required high-fidelity models of the vehicle’s power-split powertrain and braking systems, and a new longitudinal dynamics vehicle controller. In this thesis, a grey-box approach to modelling the Lincoln MKZ’s powertrain and braking systems is proposed. The modelling approach utilizes a combination of shallow neural networks and analytical methods to generate a mapping from accelerator and brake pedal positions to the torque at each wheel. Extensive road testing of the vehicle was performed to identify parameters of the powertrain and braking models. Experimental data was measured using a vehicle measurement system and CAN bus diagnostic signals. Model parameters were identified using optimization algorithms. The powertrain and braking models were combined with a vehicle dynamics model to form a complete high-fidelity model of the vehicle that was validated by open-loop simulation. The high-fidelity models of the powertrain and braking were simplified and combined with a longitudinal vehicle dynamics model to create a control-oriented model of the vehicle. The control-oriented model was used to design an instantaneously linearizing model predictive controller (MPC). The advantages of the MPC over a classical proportional-integral (PI) controller were proven in simulation, and a framework for implementing the MPC on the vehicle was developed. The MPC was implemented on the vehicle for track testing. Early track testing results of the MPC show superior performance to the existing PI that could improve with additional controller parameter tuning

Towards Autonomous Aviation Operations: What Can We Learn from Other Areas of Automation?

Rapid advances in automation has disrupted and transformed several industries in the past 25 years. Automation has evolved from regulation and control of simple systems like controlling the temperature in a room to the autonomous control of complex systems involving network of systems. The reason for automation varies from industry to industry depending on the complexity and benefits resulting from increased levels of automation. Automation may be needed to either reduce costs or deal with hazardous environment or make real-time decisions without the availability of humans. Space autonomy, Internet, robotic vehicles, intelligent systems, wireless networks and power systems provide successful examples of various levels of automation. NASA is conducting research in autonomy and developing plans to increase the levels of automation in aviation operations. This paper provides a brief review of levels of automation, previous efforts to increase levels of automation in aviation operations and current level of automation in the various tasks involved in aviation operations. It develops a methodology to assess the research and development in modeling, sensing and actuation needed to advance the level of automation and the benefits associated with higher levels of automation. Section II describes provides an overview of automation and previous attempts at automation in aviation. Section III provides the role of automation and lessons learned in Space Autonomy. Section IV describes the success of automation in Intelligent Transportation Systems. Section V provides a comparison between the development of automation in other areas and the needs of aviation. Section VI provides an approach to achieve increased automation in aviation operations based on the progress in other areas. The final paper will provide a detailed analysis of the benefits of increased automation for the Traffic Flow Management (TFM) function in aviation operations

Design a Reliable Model Predictive Control for Path Following with Application to the Autonomous Vehicle and Considering Different Vehicle Models

Despite many advances that aim to bring autonomous cars to market, several challenges remain to overcome before such technology is widely adopted. Among these is the need for a reliable cornering control that can work efficiently in real-time. This thesis will focus on the successful development, implementation, and validation of reliable control algorithms for motion control of autonomous vehicles, which will give the University of Waterloo Watanomous team a competitive edge in the annual Auto-Drive competition. A reliable path following controller based on Model Predictive Control(MPC) and using different types of vehicle models are developed to 1) minimize the lateral distance between the vehicle and a reference path, 2) minimize the heading error of the vehicle, and 3) limit the rate of steering inputs to their saturation values and produce smooth motions. The control algorithm proposed in this thesis will rely on a known path as the desired input. Such input will be used to define a horizon over which reliable control actions can be computed to command the vehicle along the desired path with minimum lateral position error. The proposed MPC is implemented in MATLAB in which the associated Optimal Control Problem (OCP) is discretized using the direct Multiple Shooting method. MPC is tested using the CarSim vehicle simulator to validate its performance for double lane change(DLC) vehicle maneuver at constant low/high forward speeds and roads with different known friction coefficients. The effects of changing prediction horizon, sampling time, and weighting factors on path-following controllers’ performance are also discussed. Simulation results show that designed controllers pulled the system back to the predefined reference path, and tracking performances were satisfactory. It is also observed that MPC designed using a linear dynamic model and a combined single-track model, both had comparable performances and less lateral tracking error than MPC designed using the non-linear kinematic model for various speeds on the dry road, and at the speeds below 80kph on the wet road. Moreover, MPCs using linear dynamic and combined single-track vehicle models both worked in the shorter horizon. Overall, MPC using a combined single-track model showed enhanced performance by comparing the other two schemes for all the tests conducted on wet and dry roads at various vehicle speeds

Autonomous aerial robot for high-speed search and intercept applications

In recent years, high-speed navigation and environment interaction in the context of aerial robotics has become a field of interest for several academic and industrial research studies. In particular, Search and Intercept (SaI) applications for aerial robots pose a compelling research area due to their potential usability in several environments. Nevertheless, SaI tasks involve a challenging development regarding sensory weight, onboard computation resources, actuation design, and algorithms for perception and control, among others. In this work, a fully autonomous aerial robot for high-speed object grasping has been proposed. As an additional subtask, our system is able to autonomously pierce balloons located in poles close to the surface. Our first contribution is the design of the aerial robot at an actuation and sensory level consisting of a novel gripper design with additional sensors enabling the robot to grasp objects at high speeds. The second contribution is a complete software framework consisting of perception, state estimation, motion planning, motion control, and mission control in order to rapidly and robustly perform the autonomous grasping mission. Our approach has been validated in a challenging international competition and has shown outstanding results, being able to autonomously search, follow, and grasp a moving object at 6 m/s in an outdoor environment.Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónKhalifa Universit

Reset controller design based on error minimization for a lane change maneuver

An intelligent vehicle must face a wide variety of situations ranging from safe and comfortable to more aggressive ones. Smooth maneuvers are adequately addressed by means of linear control, whereas more aggressive maneuvers are tackled by nonlinear techniques. Likewise, there exist intermediate scenarios where the required responses are smooth but constrained in some way (rise time, settling time, overshoot). Due to the existence of the fundamental linear limitations, which impose restrictions on the attainable time-domain and frequency-domain performance, linear systems cannot provide smoothness while operating in compliance with the previous restrictions. For this reason, this article aims to explore the effects of reset control on the alleviation of these limitations for a lane change maneuver under a set of demanding design conditions to guarantee a suitable ride quality and a swift response. To this end, several reset strategies are considered, determining the best reset condition to apply as well as the magnitude thereto. Concerning the reset condition that triggers the reset action, three strategies are considered: zero crossing of the controller input, fixed reset band and variable reset band. As far as the magnitude of the reset action is concerned, a full-reset technique is compared to a Lyapunov-based error minimization method to calculate the optimal reset percentage. The base linear controller subject to the reset action is searched via genetic algorithms. The proposed controllers are validated by means of CarSim.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. DPI2016-79278-C2-2-