An Observer of Tire–Road Forces and Friction for Active Security Vehicle Systems

The estimation of vehicle dynamic variables is essential for the enhancement of safety, in particular for braking and trajectory-control systems. This paper proposes a new estimation process to calculate lateral tire forces, vehicle sideslip angle, and road friction. The estimation process (an adaptive observer) is constructed by combining a vehicle model and a tire force model. More specifically, this study proposes an adaptive tire force model that takes variations in road friction into account. The adaptive observer is evaluated in comparison with two nonadaptive observers that use tire force models with fixed parameters. This study also proposes a road friction identification method operating in an online context. The observers and the road friction identification method are first evaluated using vehicle simulator software. Subsequently, observers are compared to real data acquired using an experimental vehicle. This paper also includes a description of the experimental platform. Results show the accuracy and potential of the estimation process.