Analysis of Stability of Motion of Intelligent Vehicle Systems

This paper deals with stability of motion and its criteria for tracking control of intelligent vehicle systems. It deals with general control structure and specification of an optimum range of predefined control parameters for accurate tracking of these vehicle systems. A two degree of freedom (DOF) nonlinear dynamic model is developed to represent their plane motion. This model is further utilized in deriving a linear model that is used to do this stability analysis. Path tracking of the vehicle is attained by controlling the position and orientation errors about a predefined trajectory, which is accomplished by modifying the steering input signal on the basis of error feedbacks to the controller. Establishing the general structure of the controller through the design of an optimal controller, applying various stability criteria, and other constraints such as applying the physical limits of the vehicle to the controlled system narrows down the range of control parameters, within which the controlled system would remain stable. Experimental results demonstrating the performance of the system are reported.