A Novel Dual Successive Projection-Based Model-Free Adaptive Control Method and Application to an Autonomous Car

In this paper, a novel model-free adaptive control (MFAC) algorithm based on a dual successive projection (DuSP)-MFAC method is proposed, and it is analyzed using the introduced DuSP method and the symmetrically similar structures of the controller and its parameter estimator of MFAC. Then, the proposed DuSP-MFAC scheme is successfully implemented in an autonomous car “Ruilong” for the lateral tracking control problem via converting the trajectory tracking problem into a stabilization problem by using the proposed preview-deviation-yaw angle. This MFAC-based lateral tracking control method was tested and demonstrated satisfactory performance on real roads in Fengtai, Beijing, China, and through successful participation in the Chinese Smart Car Future Challenge Competition held in 2015 and 2016.

I. Introduction

In recent years, the control of autonomous cars has become a hot topic in the control community [1], [2]. The dynamics of the autonomous car can be considered as a nonlinear system, and most existing control methods can be applied [3]–[10]. However, these control methods must depend on a precise mathematical model of the dynamics and environment of the car.