Using Disturbance Rejection to Achieve Inter-Vehicle Spacing Within a Convoy

In this paper, two commonly utilized control methods for active disturbance rejection are designed and evaluated in a column formation (i.e., convoy) application of ground vehicles. Specifically, a variable structure controller and a robust sign of the error controller are utilized to achieve inter-vehicle distance tracking despite (1) not measuring the preceding vehicle's velocity and (2) being subjected to environmental influences. Both controllers utilize headway (i.e., variable inter-vehicle distance based on vehicle velocity) to: (1) promote overall convoy stability and (2) utilize only the preceding vehicle's position measurement. The performance of the controllers are evaluated and analyzed on experimental scale vehicles in both on- and off-road settings.