Online estimation for vehicle center of gravity height based on unscented Kalman filter

The Center of Gravity height of heavy-duty vehicles will drift apparently when the load changes, while online estimation of the vehicle CG height is of high importance to the vehicle active safety system. An unscented Kalman filter based on three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) vehicle dynamics model is proposed to acquire the real-time value of vehicle CG height through sensing vehicle speed, front and rear wheel speed etc. The results of combined simulation studies based on TruckSim and MATLAB/Simulink show that the estimation algorithm is able to obtain the true value of CG height in a short time with a steady average error rate less than 12%. The results are instructive for the vehicle dynamic control system.