Network-Based Coordinated Motion Control of Large-Scale Transportation Vehicles

A series of large-scale transportation vehicles have been developed to transfer huge and heavy objects. Such a multiaxle vehicle has a complex steering system that consists of a large number of independently controlled steer axles. To achieve smooth and accurate steering motion without slipping and sliding, real-time and coordinated control of the steer axles is essential. Based on the networked control system (NCS), a multimode steering control scheme is proposed. Through kinematical and dynamic analysis of the steering system and utilizing the inherent real-time data-sharing features of the NCS, a cross-coupled control algorithm is developed to improve the steering accuracy. The effectiveness of the network-based steering control method is verified through simulation and experimental results