Speed Control in Longitudinal Plane of Autonomous Vehicle Using MPC

The speed control of autonomous car is an important aspect of a driver less vehicle. This paper presents a solution for longitudinal motion speed control of autonomous vehicle. The primary objective is to achieve a smooth and safe control of speed for autonomous vehicle. This is accomplished by the design of Model Predictive Controller (MPC) which controls the speed by taking inputs from LIDAR module. The longitudinal motion of vehicle is controlled by taking into consideration the factors such as obstacles, lead vehicles and pedestrians. This leads to smooth acceleration and deceleration in various situations. The proposed system works effectively for both low and high-speed vehicles. The performance of the controller was evaluated for parameters like sample time, prediction horizon using Matlab simulations, and implemented experimentally on autonomous vehicle prototype.