Decentralized Controllers for the Steering and Velocity in Vehicles

Abstract

Vehicle Control Systems (VCS) for the lateral (steering) and longitudinal (velocity) dynamics are normally used to improve the handling properties of a vehicle. However, when different VCS operate simultaneously in the vehicle, the global performance could be degraded because of the cross-coupling dynamics. In this article the design of decentralized controllers for the steering and velocity subsystems is presented. The resulting control scheme reduces the cross/coupling among the steering and longitudinal dynamics. These results were achieved by proposing a more complete vehicle model and analyzing the cross-coupling using a multivariable analysis and design framework known as Individual Channel Analysis and Design (IChAD). These results can be extended for other coupled subsystems.