Multi-Objective Control Architecture for an Autonomous In-wheel Driven Electric Vehicle

Abstract

This paper investigates the high-level control of an in-wheel-motor-drive autonomous electric vehicle. Four distinct objectives are achieved, including lateral and longitudinal control, as well as stability and maneuverability control. Actuators designated at the low level are active front steering specified for the lateral control and the 4 independent in-wheel motors for the remnant objectives. Stability and maneuverability are realized using the direct yaw control by distributing driving and braking torques among the motors, along with the longitudinal control within a torque allocation unit. In contrast to critical situations, maneuverability is promoted while relaxing the stability objective during normal driving situations. Hence, a decision layer is developed to coordinate the stabilizing and maneuvering objectives on the same actuator, thus a multi-layer Global Chassis Control (GCC) architecture is established. The control architecture is tested and validated within a MatLab/Simulink environment. Simulation results carried out on a full nonlinear vehicle model emphasize the objectives’ achievement and demonstrate the superior performance of such system.