Path Tracking Controller Design of Automated Parking Systems via NMPC with an Instructible Solution

Parking difficulties have become a social issue that people have to solve.Automated parking system is practicable for quick par operations without a driver which can also greatly reduces the probability of parking accidents.The paper proposes a Lyapunov-based nonlinear model predictive controller embedding an instructable solution which is generated by the modified rear-wheel feedback method(RF-LNMPC)in order to improve the overall path tracking accuracy in parking conditions.Firstly,A discrete-time RF-LNMPC considering the position and attitude of the parking vehicle is proposed to increase the success rate of automated parking effectively.Secondly,the RF-LNMPC problem with a multi-objective cost function is solved by the Interior-Point Optimization,of which the iterative initial values are described as the instructable solutions calculated by combining modified rear-wheel feedback to improve the performance of local optimal solution.Thirdly,the details on the computation of the terminal constraint and terminal cost for the linear time-varying case is presented.The closed-loop stability is verified via Lyapunov techniques by considering the terminal constraint and terminal cost theoretically.Finally,the proposed RF-LNMPC is implemented on a selfdriving Lincoln MKZ platform and the experiment results have shown improved performance in parallel and vertical parking conditions.The Monte Carlo analysis also demonstrates good stability and repeatability of the proposed method which can be applied in practical use in the near future.

Observer-Based Path Tracking Controller Design for Autonomous Ground Vehicles With Input Saturation

This paper investigates the problem of path tracking control for autonomous ground vehicles(AGVs),where the input saturation,system nonlinearities and uncertainties are considered.Firstly,the nonlinear path tracking system is formulated as a linear parameter varying(LPV)model where the variation of vehicle velocity is taken into account.Secondly,considering the noise effects on the measurement of lateral offset and heading angle,an observer-based control strategy is proposed,and by analyzing the frequency domain characteristics of the derivative of desired heading angle,a finite frequency H_∞index is proposed to attenuate the effects of the derivative of desired heading angle on path tracking error.Thirdly,sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee robust H_∞performance of the path tracking system,and the calculation of observer and controller gains is converted into solving a convex optimization problem.Finally,simulation examples verify the advantages of the control method proposed in this paper.

A 4H-SiC trench IGBT with controllable hole-extracting path for low loss

A novel 4H-Si C trench insulated gate bipolar transistor(IGBT)with a controllable hole-extracting(CHE)path is proposed and investigated in this paper.The CHE path is controlled by metal semiconductor gate(MES gate)and metal oxide semiconductor gate(MOS gate)in the p-shield region.The grounded p-shield region can significantly suppress the high electric field around gate oxide in Si C devices,but it weakens the conductivity modulation in the Si C trench IGBT by rapidly sweeping out holes.This effect can be eliminated by introducing the CHE path.The CHE path is pinched off by the high gate bias voltage at on-state to maintain high conductivity modulation and obtain a comparatively low on-state voltage(VON).During the turn-off transient,the CHE path is formed,which contributes to a decreased turn-off loss(EOFF).Based on numerical simulation,the EOFFof the proposed IGBT is reduced by 89%compared with the conventional IGBT at the same VONand the VONof the proposed IGBT is reduced by 50%compared to the grounded p-shield IGBT at the same EOFF.In addition,the average power reduction for the proposed device can be 51.0%to 81.7%and 58.2%to 72.1%with its counterparts at a wide frequency range of 500 Hz to 10 k Hz,revealing a great improvement of frequency characteristics.

Adaptive robust dissipative designs on straight path control for underactuated ships

An adaptive robust control algorithm for ship straight path control system in the presence of both modeling uncertainties and the bounded disturbances is proposed. Motivated by the backstepping approach, the algorithm is developed by using the dissipation theory, such that the resulting dosed-loop system is both strictly dissipative and asymptotically adaptively stable for all admissible uncertainties. Also, it is able to steer an underactuated ship along a prescribed straight path with ultimate bounds under external disturbances induced by wave, wind and ocean current. When there are no disturbances, the straight path control can be implemented in a locally asymptotically stable manner. Simulation results on an ocean-going training ship ‘YULONG＇ are presented to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Following Control for a UUV using Temporary Path Generation Guidance

A path following control algorithm for an unmanned underwater vehicle（UUV） using temporary path generation guidance was proposed in this paper.Owing to different initial states of the vehicle,such as position and orientation,the path following control in the horizontal plane may yield a poor performance.To deal with the negative effect induced by initial states,a temporary path generation was presented based on the relationship between the original reference path and the vehicle’s initial states.With different relative positions between the vehicle and reference path,including out of straight lines,as well as inside and outside a circle,the related temporary paths guiding the vehicle to the reference path were able to be generated in real time.The vehicle was guided to steer along the temporary path until it reached the tangent point at the reference path,where the controller was designed using the input-output feedback linearization method.Simulation results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is effective under the three different situations mentioned above.

Fuzzy robust path tracking strategy of an active pelagic trawl system with coordinated ship and winch regulation

A fuzzy robust path tracking strategy of an active pelagic trawl system with ship and winch regulation is proposed.First,nonlinear mathematic model of the pelagic trawl system was derived using Lagrange equation and further simplified as a low order model for the convenience of controller design.Then,an active path tracking strategy of pelagic trawl system was investigated to improve the catching efficiency of the target fish near the sea bottom.By means of the active tracking control,the pelagic trawl net can be positioned dynamically to follow a specified trajectory via the coordinated winch and ship regulation.In addition,considering the system nonlinearities,modeling uncertainties and the unknown exogenous disturbance of the trawl system model,a nonlinear robust H2 /H∞ controller based on Takagi-Sugeno(T-S) fuzzy model was presented,and the simulation comparison with linear robust H2 /H∞ controller and PID method was conducted for the validation of the nonlinear fuzzy robust controller.The nonlinear simulation results show that the average tracking error is 0.4 m for the fuzzy robust H2 /H∞ control and 125.8 m for the vertical and horizontal displacement,respectively,which is much smaller than linear H2 /H∞ controller and the PID controller.The investigation results illustrate that the fuzzy robust controller is effective for the active path tracking control of the pelagic trawl system.

PREDICTIVE CONTROL FOR OPTIMAL PATH TERRAIN FOLLOWING SYSTEM

In this paper output predictive algorithm is applied to the design of predictive controller for an optimal path terrain following system. In this way, the error of path tracking is decreased to a minimum degree simply and efficiently and the computation time for the optimal path is shortened greatly. Therefore, the real-time processing of the optimal path terrain following system is made to be very helpful.

Describing failure in geomaterials using second-order work approach

Geomaterials are known to be non-associated materials. Granular soils therefore exhibit a variety of failure modes, with diffuse or localized kinematical patterns. In fact, the notion of failure itself can be confusing with regard to granular soils, because it is not associated with an obvious phenomenology. In this study, we built a proper framework, using the second-order work theory, to describe some failure modes in geomaterials based on energy conservation. The occurrence of failure is defined by an abrupt increase in kinetic energy. The increase in kinetic energy from an equilibrium state, under incremental loading, is shown to be equal to the difference between the external second-order work,involving the external loading parameters, and the internal second-order work, involving the constitutive properties of the material. When a stress limit state is reached, a certain stress component passes through a maximum value and then may decrease. Under such a condition, if a certain additional external loading is applied, the system fails, sharply increasing the strain rate. The internal stress is no longer able to balance the external stress, leading to a dynamic response of the specimen. As an illustration, the theoretical framework was applied to the well-known undrained triaxial test for loose soils. The influence of the loading control mode was clearly highlighted. It is shown that the plastic limit theory appears to be a particular case of this more general second-order work theory. When the plastic limit condition is met, the internal second-order work is nil. A class of incremental external loadings causes the kinetic energy to increase dramatically, leading to the sudden collapse of the specimen, as observed in laboratory.

Path planning and stability control of collision avoidance system based on active front steering

Vehicle collision avoidance system is a kind of auxiliary driving system based on vehicle active safety,which can assist the driver to take the initiative to avoid obstacles under certain conditions,so as to effectively improve the driving safety of vehicle.This paper presents a collision avoidance system for an autonomous vehicle based on an active front steering,which mainly consists of a path planner and a robust tracking controller.A path planner is designed based on polynomial parameterization optimized by simulated annealing algorithm,which plans an evasive trajectory to bypass the obstacle and avoid crashes.The dynamic models of the AFS system,vehicle as well as the driver model are established,and based on these,a robust tracking controller is proposed,which controls the system to resist external disturbances and work in accordance with the planning trajectory.The proposed collision avoidance system is testified through CarSim and Simulink combined simulation platform.The simulation results show that it can effectively track the planning trajectory,and improve the steering stability and anti-interference performance of the vehicle.

Model Algorithm Research on Cooling Path Control of Hot-rolled Dual-phase Steel

With the development of advanced high strength steel,especially for dual-phase steel,the model algorithm for cooling control after hot rolling has to achieve the targeted coiling temperature control at the location of downcoiler whilst maintaining the cooling path control based on strip microstructure along the whole cooling section.A cooling path control algorithm was proposed for the laminar cooling process as a solution to practical difficulties associated with the realization of the thermal cycle during cooling process.The heat conduction equation coupled with the carbon diffusion equation with moving boundary was employed in order to simulate temperature change and phase transformation kinetics,making it possible to observe the temperature field and the phase fraction of the strip in real time.On this basis,an optimization method was utilized for valve settings to ensure the minimum deviations between the predicted and actual cooling path of the strip,taking into account the constraints of the cooling equipment′s specific capacity,cooling line length,etc.Results showed that the model algorithm was able to achieve the online cooling path control for dual-phase steel.

Vector Field Based Sliding Mode Control of Curved Path Following for Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Winds

In this paper, a curved path following control algorithm for miniature unmanned aerial vehicles（UAVs） in winds with constant speed and altitude is developed. Different to the widely considered line or orbit following, the curved path to be followed is defined in terms of the arc-length parameter, which can be straight lines, orbits, B-splines or any other curves provided that they are smooth. The proposed path following control algorithm, named by VF-SMC, is combining the vector field（VF） strategy with the sliding mode control（SMC） method. It is proven that the designed algorithm guarantees the tracking errors to be a bounded ball in the presence of winds, with the aid of the Lyapunov method and the BIBO stability. The algorithm is validated both in Matlab-based simulations and high-fidelity semi-physical simulations. In Matlab-based simulations, the proposed algorithm is verified for straight lines, orbits and B-splines to show its wide usage in different curves.The high-fidelity semi-physical simulation system is composed of actual autopilot controller, ground station and X-Plane flight simulator in-loop. In semi-physical simulations, the proposed algorithm is verified for B-spline path following under various gain parameters and wind conditions thoroughly.All experiments show the accuracy in curved path following and the excellent robustness to wind disturbances of the proposed algorithm.

Multiple Robots Formation Manoeuvring and Collision Avoidance Strategy

This paper presents a multiple robots formation manoeuvring and its collision avoidance strategy. The direction priority sequential selection algorithm is employed to achieve the raw path, and a new algorithm is then proposed to calculate the turning-compliant waypoints supporting the multi-robot formation manoeuvre. The collision avoidance strategy based on the formation control is presented to translate the collision avoidance problem into the stability problem of the formation. The extension-decomposition-aggregation scheme is next applied to solve the formation control problem and subsequently achieve the collision avoidance during the formation manoeuvre. Simulation study finally shows that the collision avoidance problem can be conveniently solved if the stability of the constructed formation including unidentified objects can be satisfied.

Low-cost Position and Force Measurement System for Payload Transport Using UAVs

In recent years, multiple applications have emerged in the area of payload transport using unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs). This has attracted considerable interest among the scientific community, especially the cases involving one or several rotarywing UAVs. In this context, this work proposes a novel measurement system which can estimate the payload position and the force exerted by it on the UAV. This measurement system is low cost, easy to implement, and can be used either in indoor or outdoor environments(no sensorized laboratory is needed). The measurement system is validated statically and dynamically. In the first test, the estimations obtained by the system are compared with measurements produced by high-precision devices. In the second test, the system is used in real experiments to compare its performance with the ones obtained using known procedures. These experiments allowed to draw interesting conclusions on which future research can be based.

A low power CMOS VCO using inductive-biasing with high performance FoM

A novel voltage-controlled oscillator（VCO） topology with low voltage and low power is presented. It employed the inductive-biasing to build a feedback path between the tank and the MOS gate to enhance the voltage gain from output nodes of the tank to the gate node of the cross-coupled transistor. Theoretical analysis using timevarying phase noise theory derives closed-form symbolic formulas for the 1/f^2 phase noise region, showing that this feedback path could improve the phase noise performance. The proposed VCO is fabricated in TSMC 0.13 m CMOS technology. Working under a 0.3 V supply voltage with 1.2 m W power consumption, the measured phase noise of the VCO is –119.4 d Bc/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency from the carrier of 4.92 GHz, resulting in an Fo M of 192.5 d Bc/Hz.