Finite-Time Sideslip Differentiator-Based LOS Guidance for Robust Path Following of Snake Robots

This paper presents a finite-time sideslip differentiator-based line-of-sight(LOS)guidance method for robust path following of snake robots.Firstly,finite-time stable sideslip differentiator and adaptive LOS guidance method are proposed to counteract sideslip drift caused by cross-track velocity.The proposed differentiator can accurately observe the cross-track error and sideslip angle for snake robots to avoid errors caused by calculating sideslip angle approximately.In our method,the designed piecewise auxiliary function guarantees the finite-time stability of position errors.Secondly,for the case of external disturbances and state constraints,a Barrier Lyapunov functionbased backstepping adaptive path following controller is presented to improve the robot’s robustness.The uniform ultimate boundedness of the closed-loop system is proved by analyzing stability.Additionally,a gait frequency adjustment-based virtual velocity control input is derived to achieve the exponential convergence of the tangential velocity.At last,the availability and superiority of this work are shown through simulation and experiment results.

Vehicle Dynamic State Estimation： State of the Art Schemes and Perspectives

Next-generation vehicle control and future autonomous driving require further advances in vehicle dynamic state estimation. This article provides a concise review, along with the perspectives, of the recent developments in the estimation of vehicle dynamic states. The definitions used in vehicle dynamic state estimation are first introduced, and alternative estimation structures are presented. Then, the sensor configuration schemes used to estimate vehicle velocity, sideslip angle, yaw rate and roll angle are presented. The vehicle models used for vehicle dynamic state estimation are further summarized, and representative estimation approaches are discussed. Future concerns and perspectives for vehicle dynamic state estimation are also discussed.

Effects of rainy weather on traffic accidents of a freeway using cellular automata model

The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of rainy weather on traffic accidents of a freeway. The micro-scale driving behaviors in rainy weather and possible vehicle rear-end and sideslip accidents are analyzed. An improved CA model of two lanes one-way freeway is presented, where some vehicle accidents will occur when the necessary conditions are simultaneously satisfied. The characteristics of traffic flow under different rainfall intensities are discussed and the accident probabilities are analyzed via the simulation experiments by using variable speed limit （VSL） and incoming flow control. The results indicate that the measures are effective especially during heavy rainstorms or short-time heavy rainfall. According to different rainfall intensities, an appropriate strategy should be adopted in order to reduce the probability of vehicle accidents and enhance traffic flux as well.

State Estimation of the Electric Drive Articulated Dump Truck Based on UKF

The requirements of vehicle dynamic stability control are higher than ever as the significant increase of electric drive articulated vehicle speed. According to the construction features of articulated dumping truck and nonlinear characteristics of moving vehicles,nonlinear observer of vehicle status is designed to strength robustness of dynamic control system in this paper. A 4-degree-of-freedom nonlinear dynamic model of articulated electric drive vehicle is built as reference model to estimate the state of the articulated vehicle. And by adopting Unscented Kalman Filter( UKF) algorithm,a series of state parameters such as longitudinal velocities of front and rear frames,yaw rate and side-slip angle are estimated. During the test of 60 t articulated electric drive vehicle,2 inertial navigation modules are installed in the front frame and rear frame respectively and the speed of each electric drive wheel is obtained simultaneously. As the test results suggest,in various working conditions,the algorithm based on UKF is able to accurately estimate the state parameters of articulated vehicle with the estimated error less than 5%. The proposed method is justified to be the theoretical basis and application guidance for articulated vehicle stability control.

ACTIVE FRONT STEERING DURING BRAKING PROCESS

An active front steering （AFS） intervention control during braking for vehicle stability is presented. Based on the investigation of AFS mechanism, a simplified model of steering system is established and integrated with vehicle model. Then the AFS control on vehicle handling dynamics during braking is designed. Due to the difficulties associated with the sideslip angle measurement of vehicle, a state observer is designed to provide real time estimation. Thereafter, the controller with the feedback of both sideslip and yaw angle is implemented. To evaluate the system control, the proposed AFS controlled vehicle has been tested in the Hardware-in-the-loop-simulation （HILS） system and compared with that of conventional vehicle. Results show that AFS can improve vehicle lateral stability effectively without reducing the braking performance.

Modified attitude pursuit guidance law for low-cost missiles using strap-down seekers

Attitude pursuit guidance law is suitable for low cost missiles.A strap-down seeker is used to achieve this guidance law.The additional angles of attack or sideslip caused by wind and by control system are considered as two disturbing factors which make attitude pursuit law impossible.Therefore,general attitude pursuit guidance law did not account for this two disturbing factors,because with those disturbing factors,it is difficult to apply.To solve the problem,the principle of strap-down seeker detecting target is investigated,the mathematical control model is established,then a modified attitude pursuit guidance law which employs the angular correction for those two disturbing factors is presented.It is proved that the modified attitude pursuit guidance law is appropriated to both in the presence of the additional angle of attack or sideslip via the simulations with the mathematical control model and Monte-Carlo method.

Vehicle sideslip trajectory prediction based on time-series analysis and multi-physical model fusion

On highways,vehicles that swerve out of their lane due to sideslip can pose a serious threat to the safety of autonomous vehicles.To ensure their safety,predicting the sideslip trajectories of such vehicles is crucial.However,the scarcity of data on vehicle sideslip scenarios makes it challenging to apply data-driven methods for prediction.Hence,this study uses a physical model-based approach to predict vehicle sideslip trajectories.Nevertheless,the traditional physical model-based method relies on constant input assumption,making its long-term prediction accuracy poor.To address this challenge,this study presents the time-series analysis and interacting multiple model-based(IMM)sideslip trajectory prediction(TSIMMSTP)method,which encompasses time-series analysis and multi-physical model fusion,for the prediction of vehicle sideslip trajectories.Firstly,we use the proposed adaptive quadratic exponential smoothing method with damping(AQESD)in the time-series analysis module to predict the input state sequence required by kinematic models.Then,we employ an IMM approach to fuse the prediction results of various physical models.The implementation of these two methods allows us to significantly enhance the long-term predictive accuracy and reduce the uncertainty of sideslip trajectories.The proposed method is evaluated through numerical simulations in vehicle sideslip scenarios,and the results clearly demonstrate that it improves the long-term prediction accuracy and reduces the uncertainty compared to other model-based methods.

Finite-time path following control of a sailboat with actuator failure and unknown sideslip angle

Suffering from actuator failure and complex sideslip angle,the motion control of a sailboat becomes challenging.In this paper,an improved double finite-time observer-based line-of-sight guidance and finite-time control(IDFLOS-FC)scheme is presented for path following of sailboats.The salient features of the proposed IDFLOS-FC scheme are as follows:(1)Considering the problem of actuator failure,an actuator failure model is introduced into the dynamics model of a sailboat.(2)The time-varying sideslip angle of the sailboat is accurately observed by the double finite-time sideslip observers(DFSOs),which reduces the error in line-of-sight(LOS)guidance.(3)A radial basis function(RBF)neural network is used to fit the uncertainty of the model,and the upper bound of the sum of fault effects and external disturbances is estimated based on adaptive theory,so that the controller has accurate tracking and interference suppression.(4)According to the Lyapunov method,the system is finite-time stable.Finally,simulation was used to validate the effectiveness of the method.

Performance of wavecatcher intakes at angles of attack and sideslip

A wavecatcher type scramjet intake,that reduces the Mach number number from 4 to 1.552,is used as the basis for a study of flow starting/unstarting as affected by freestream angles of attack and sideslip.The intake design is based on a morphed streamtube consisting of two conical flow streamlines using streamline tracing and osculating axisymmetric design theory.Intake flow and performance is modeled using the numerical CFD code and the k-e turbulence model.The intake unstarts at a sideslip angle of 2,a positive angle of attack of 1.Both positive angle of attack and sideslip angle have an adverse effect on the startability of the MBus intake.At negative angles,the intake initially unstarts at5angle of attack,due to the thickened shear layer induced by the streamwise vortex.Then it re-starts at8angle of attack,mainly due to the expansion fan formed at the leading edge,causing the shock wave structures inside the intake to be reestablished.

An experimental investigation on static directiona stability

A generic aircraft usually loses its static directional stability at moderate angle of attack(typically 20–30°). In this research, wind tunnel studies were performed using an aircraft model with moderate swept wing and a conventional vertical tail. The purpose of this study was to investigate flow mechanisms responsible for static directional stability. Measurements of force, surface pressure and spatial flow field were carried out for angles of attack from 0° to 46° and sideslip angles from-8° to 8°. Results of the wind tunnel experiments show that the vertical tail is the main contributor to static directional stability, while the fuselage is the main contributor to static directional instability of the model. In the sideslip attitude for moderate angles of attack, the fuselage vortex and the wing vortex merged together and changed asymmetrically as angle of attack increased on the windward side and leeward side of the vertical tail. The separated asymmetrical vortex flow around the vertical tail is the main reason for reduction in the static directional stability. Compared with the wing vortices, the fuselage vortices are more concentrated and closer to the vertical tail, so the yawing moment of vertical tail is more unstable than that when the wings are absent. On the other hand,the attached asymmetrical flow over the fuselage in sideslip leads to the static directional instability of the fuselage being exacerbated. It is mainly due to the predominant model contour blockage effect on the windward side flow over the model in sideslip, which is strongly affected by angle of attack.