Predictive constrained gain scheduling for UGV path tracking in a networked control system

This paper presents a predictive gain scheduler for path tracking control in a networked control system with variable delay. The controller uses the plant model to predict future position and find the amount of travel possible with the global path as a constraint. Based on variable network conditions and vehicle trajectory´s curvature the vehicle is allowed to travel farther on the current control signal while the vehicle trajectory matches the path constraint. This method uses path specific characteristics to evaluate the effectiveness of each generated control signal. By scheduling the gain on the control signal the vehicle tracking performance is maintained with an increase in network delay. The tracking time is decreased compared to other methods since the proposed control method allows the controller to look ahead and thus evaluate predicted effect of each control signal before scaling it. The proposed method is compared with existing delay compensation methods through simulation.