Roll prediction-based optimal control for safe path following

Autonomous vehicles can risk dangerous rollover if they corner without taking roll motion into consideration. This paper proposes a control algorithm to follow a curved road while simultaneously preventing rollover. Model predictive control is applied to minimize roll motion throughout cornering. The prediction of vehicle state is based on a four-wheel nonlinear vehicle model with roll dynamics and a tire brush model. Full braking is utilized as a control actuator to achieve an optimal balance in the trade-off between vehicle speed and roll motion. CarSim simulations show the performance of the proposed control approach and the influence of vehicle parameters on control performance.