Optimal Path Tracking Control Based on Online Modeling for Autonomous Vehicle With Completely Unknown Parameters

Reliable path tracking control (PTC) method is essential for autonomous driving. However, existing PTC methods count on prior vehicle parameters to achieve good performance. This paper presents an optimal PTC method without requiring any prior vehicle parameters based on online modeling with strict parameter convergence ability. First, we build a virtual optimal control problem using adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) scheme to guide the data collection and solve two characteristic matrices containing parameter information. Then, the model construction method is derived using the solved matrices and the optimal PTC method is constructed using the constructed model. Finally, a fault-tolerant control scheme is further designed using the constructed model and the online modeling ability of the proposed method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through co-simulation between Matlab/Simulink and high-fidelity vehicle dynamic simulation software CarSim® under both fault-free and fault-tolerant situations.