Stability coordinated control strategy of autonomous unmanned 4WID-4WIS vehicle based on APD-LQR and AFSMC

To improve the four-wheel independent driving and four-wheel independent steering (4WID-4WIS) autonomous unmanned vehicles’ active safety performance at their maximum operating capacity, the control of path following, four-wheel steering (4WS) and lateral stability should be coordinated. This paper introduces a hierarchical coordinated control framework, in which several independent controllers collaborate to enhance the overall performance of the vehicle system. Initially, in the upper controller, an adaptive preview distance linear quadratic regulator (APD-LQR) path following algorithm is proposed, considering the dynamic characteristics of the tire. It aimed at making the following error converge and obtaining the optimal front wheel steering angle. Meanwhile, an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control (AFSMC) algorithm is implemented for obtaining additional yaw moment. It aimed at coordinating and improving effectively path following performance and lateral stability. Using the phase plane approach, the sliding surface is dynamically modified. Subsequently, in the lower controller, a rear wheel angle controller based on vehicle speed is proposed. It aimed at further enhancing vehicle’s maneuverability and stability by fully utilizing its steering redundancy features. Moreover, a torque distribution controller establishes a comprehensive cost function and then the NSGA-III algorithm is employed to optimize the torque distribution coefficients. Finally, simulation and Hardware-in-Loop (HIL) test results demonstrates that the proposed coordination algorithm can fully utilize the redundancy features of the 4WID-4WIS vehicle, and significantly enhances the vehicle’s path following accuracy and lateral stability, especially under extreme driving conditions.