Predictive Prevention of Loss of Vehicle Control for Roadway Departure Avoidance

In this paper, we investigate predictive approaches to the problem of roadway departure prevention via automated steering and braking. We assume a sensing infrastructure detecting road geometry and consider a two-layer accident avoidance framework consisting of a threat assessment and an intervention layer. A novel active safety function for prevention of loss of vehicle control is proposed and implemented using the considered accident avoidance framework. Simulation and experimental results are presented, showing that the proposed approach effectively exploits road preview information to prevent the vehicle from operating in regions of the state space where standard electronic stability control systems are normally activated.