Using Real World Data in Virtual Development and Testing of a Path Tracking Controller for an Autonomous Vehicle

Abstract

The article describes an approach to development and testing of a path tracking function for an autonomous vehicle. The essence of the approach consists in combining experimental data and mathematical modeling in order to simulate operation of a path-tracking regulator in real world maneuvers. The procedure can be divided into two stages. The first one implies field-testing of the vehicle under control of a human driver with logging of the essential dynamic variables including the driving trajectory. Then the obtained data is used to validate the model of vehicle dynamics being a tool for further simulations. At the second stage, a simulation is performed with tracking of the previously logged trajectory by an automatic regulator. The results of these steps allow for comparison between the human and automatic controls with assessment of pros and cons of the latter and the ways of improving its performance. The proposed approach was implemented within a research and development project aimed at building of an experimental autonomous vehicle. The article describes the obtained results as well as the experiments and the mathematical model used for implementation of the said approach.