Path following for an articulated vehicle based on switching model predictive control under varying speeds and slip angles

This article is focusing on the problem of path following for an articulated vehicle under varying velocities and slip conditions. The proposed control architecture consists of a switching control scheme based on multiple model predictive controllers, fine tuned for dealing with different operating speeds and slip angles. In the presented analysis for the non-holonomic articulated vehicle, the corresponding kinematic model is being transformed into an error dynamics model, which is linearized around multiple nominal slip angle cases and various operating speeds. The existence of the slipping and varying speed has a significant effect on the vehicle´s path following capability and can significantly deteriorate the performance of the overall control scheme. Based on the derived multiple dynamics modeling, the current slip and vehicle´s speed are being considered as the signal selector for the proposed switching model predictive control scheme. The efficacy of the proposed controller is being evaluated by an extended set of simulation results.