Location-Aware Adaptive Vehicle Dynamics System: Linear Chassis Predictions

One seminal question that faces a vehicle's driver (either human or computer) is predicting the capability of the vehicle as it encounters upcoming terrain. A Location-Aware Adaptive Vehicle Dynamics (LAAVD) System is being developed to assist the driver in maintaining vehicle handling capabilities through various driving maneuvers. In contrast to current active safety systems, this system is predictive, not reactive. The LAAVD System employs a predictor-corrector method in which the driver's input commands (throttle, brake, steering) and upcoming driving environment (terrain, traffic, weather) are predicted. An Intervention Strategy uses a novel measure of handling capability, the Performance Margin (PM), to assess the need to intervene. The driver's throttle and brake control are modulated to affect desired changes to the PM in a manner that is minimally intrusive to the driver's control authority. This system depends heavily on an understanding of the interplay between the vehicle's longitudinal, lateral, and vertical forces, as well as their resulting moments. These vehicle dynamics impact the PM metric and ultimately the point at which the Intervention Strategy will modulate the throttle and brake controls. Real-time implementation requires the development of computationally efficient predictive models of the vehicle dynamics.

In this work, a method for predicting future vehicle states, based on current states and upcoming terrain, is developed using perturbation theory. An analytical relationship between the change in the spindle forces and the resulting change in the PM is derived, and the inverse relationship, between change in PM and resulting changes in longitudinal forces, is modeled. This model is implemented in the predictor-corrector algorithm of the Intervention Strategy. Corrections to the predicted states are made at each time step using a detailed, full, non-linear vehicle model. This model is run in real-time and is intended to be replaced with a drive-by-wire vehicle. Finally, the impact of this work on the automotive industry is discussed and recommendations for future work are given.