A trajectory tracking steer-by-wire control system for ground vehicles

The application of multi-disciplinary automotive technologies to hybrid vehicles has resulted in the integration of alternative propulsion sources and drive-by-wire components for enhanced ground vehicle performance, fuel economy, and occupant safety. The integration of steer-by-wire systems in vehicles facilitates autonomous and semi-autonomous operations, better lateral vehicle behavior, an adjustable steering "feel," and elimination of problems arising due to potential engine cycling. In this paper, a continuous time-varying tracking controller is designed for the vehicle's position/orientation using a simplified vehicle description and reference model for tracking. The tracking error is globally, exponentially forced to a neighborhood of about zero by transforming the system into a flat input-state system and then fusing a filtered tracking error transformation with the dynamic oscillator design. Mathematical models are presented for a steer-by-wire rack and pinion unit, vehicle chassis, and tire/road interface dynamics. Representative numerical results are discussed to demonstrate the vehicle's transient response for a prescribed trajectory profile.