Autodriver algorithm

Anna Bourmistrova, Milan Simic, Reza Hoseinnezhad, Reza N. Jazar

The autodriver algorithm is an intelligent method to eliminate the need of steering by a driver on a well-defined road. The proposed method performs best on a four-wheel steering (4WS) vehicle, though it is also applicable to two-wheel-steering (TWS) vehicles. The algorithm is based on coinciding the actual vehicle center of rotation and road center of curvature, by adjusting the kinematic center of rotation. The road center of curvature is assumed prior information for a given road, while the dynamic center of rotation is the output of dynamic equations of motion of the vehicle using steering angle and velocity measurements as inputs. We use kinematic condition of steering to set the steering angles in such a way that the kinematic center of rotation of the vehicle sits at a desired point. At low speeds the ideal and actual paths of the vehicle are very close. With increase of forward speed the road and tire characteristics, along with the motion dynamics of the vehicle cause the vehicle to turn about time-varying points. By adjusting the steering angles, our algorithm controls the dynamic turning center of the vehicle so that it coincides with the road curvature center, hence keeping the vehicle on a given road autonomously. The position and orientation errors are used as feedback signals in a closed loop control to adjust the steering angles. The application of the presented autodriver algorithm demonstrates reliable performance under different driving conditions.

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