Exploring Active Camber for Path Following and Yaw Stability of Autonomous Vehicles

Abstract

This paper explores active camber for path following and yaw stability control of over-actuated autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs). The camber effect on tyre force is modelled with a modified Dugoff tyre model, where the influence of tyre slip on camber stiffness is considered. Additionally, a nonlinear vehicle model including the longitudinal, lateral and yaw motion of the vehicle and the rotational motion of the wheels is utilised. The control problem of the AEVs is formulated with model predictive control, where both actuator- and safety-related constraints are considered. Comparative studies show that with four-wheel camber control the path following and yaw stability performance of the AEV can be considerably improved.