Visual control of an autonomous vehicle (BART)-thevehicle-following problem

The authors consider the problem of vehicle-following including automatic steering and speed control of an autonomous vehicle following the motion of a lead vehicle. A visual control system for vehicle-following is presented. The system consists of the following modules: image processing, recursive filtering, and a driving command generator. First, the range and heading signal of the lead vehicle are obtained by visually identifying a unique tracking feature on the lead vehicle. Based upon this information, appropriate steering wheel and speed commands for driving are generated, which are then downloaded and executed on a microprocessor controller. The visual control system was tested on BART (Binocular Autonomous Research Team), a testbed vehicle developed at Texas A&M University for autonomous mobility. Successful full-scale test runs have been accomplished for speeds up to 20 mi/h     

Design and evaluation of an active electromechanical wheel suspension system

This paper presents an electromechanical wheel suspension, where the upper arm of the suspension has been provided with an electric levelling and a damper actuator, both are allowed to work in a fully active mode. A control structure for the proposed suspension is described. The complex design task involving the control of the electric damper and its machine parameters is tackled by genetic optimisation. During this process, these parameters are optimised to keep the power dissipation of the electric damper as low as possible, while maintaining acceptable comfort and road-holding capabilities. The results of the evaluations carried out demonstrate that the proposed suspension can easily adopt its control parameters to obtain a better compromise of performance than that offered by passive suspensions. If the vehicle is to maintain acceptable performance during severe driving conditions, the damper has to be unrealistically large. However, if the electric damper is combined with a hydraulic damper, the size of the electric damper is significantly reduced. In addition, the design of the electric damper with the suggested control structure, including how it regenerates energy, is discussed.     

H∞ control of electrorheological suspension system subjected to parameter uncertainties

Vehicle suspension is normally used to attenuate unwanted vibration from various road conditions. The successful suppression of the vibration leads to the improvement of ride comfort as well as steering stability of the vehicle. One of attractive candidates to formulate successful vehicle suspension is to use electrorheological (ER) damper. This paper presents robust control performances of ER suspension system subjected to parameter uncertainties associated with sprung mass of the vehicle and time constant of the ER damper. After identifying dynamic bandwidth of a cylindrical ER damper operated with two different ER fluids (one has fast response characteristic, while the other slow response characteristic), a quarter car model is established by incorporating with time constant of the damping force. A robust H_∞ controller, which compensates the sprung mass and time constant uncertainties, is designed in order to suppress unwanted vibration of the vehicle. Control responses such as vertical acceleration of the sprung mass are presented in time and frequency domains. In addition, the effect of time constant of the damping force on the vibration control performance is investigated by undertaking a comparative work between fast and slow dynamic characteristics of the ER damper.     

Medium Access Control Protocol Design for Vehicle–Vehicle Safety Messages

We propose a medium access control protocol design for a vehicle to send safety messages to other vehicles. We develop a Quality-of-Service (QoS) model for safety messages that are consistent with the active vehicle safety systems literature. Each message has a range and useful lifetime. The QoS target has each message received with high probability within its specified lifetime by each vehicle within its specified range. The protocol design is based on rapidly rebroadcasting each message multiple times within its lifetime in combination with the 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function. This makes the design compatible with emerging standards for Dedicated Short-Range Communication. Six different design variations are proposed. We derive equations and develop a simulation tool to assess the performance of the designs. Using these, we identify the best and most easily implemented designs. Design performance depends on the number of rebroadcasts, power, modulation, coding, and vehicular traffic volumes. We show that under certain assumptions on the loss probability tolerated by safety applications, the design is able to transport safety messages in vehicular ad hoc networks     

A lateral position sensing system for automated vehicle following

This paper investigates the use of photoresistive light sensor arrays as a possible lateral position sensing system for a vehicle, or several vehicles, following a lead vehicle under separate control. A brief motivation for the use of such a sensing array is followed by a derivation of an appropriate sensor layout. It is shown that the sensing array has several benefits, including cost, simplicity, redundancy, and near linearity. Experimental results are given for a scaled vehicle following manoeuvre using a simple lateral control strategy. The results show that the sensor array may be attractive for lateral alignment in vehicle-following manoeuvres     

Vehicle-following system based on deep reinforcement learning in marine scene

In order to solve the problems that the feature data type are not rich enough in the data collection process about the vehicle-following task in marine scene which results in a long model convergence time and high training difficulty, a two-stage vehicle-following system was proposed. Firstly, semantic segmentation model predicts the number of pixels of the followed target, then the number of pixels of the followed target is mapped to the position feature. Secondly, deep reinforcement learning algorithm enables the control equipment to make decision action, to ensure that two moving objects remain within the safe distance. The experimental results show that the two-stage vehicle-following system has a 40% faster convergence rate than the model without position feature, and the following stability is significantly improved by adding the position feature.     

Dynamic Feedback Power Control for Cooperative Vehicle Safety Systems

Cooperative vehicle safety systems rely on periodic broadcast of each vehicle’s state information to track neighbors’ positions and therefore to predict potential collisions. The shared wireless channel in such systems is heavily affected by vehicle density and even medium vehicle density can cause channel congestion. Moreover, the interference factors can also heavily degrade the performance of the network. The vehicle tracking accuracy is the basis of cooperative vehicle safety systems and is significantly affected by the network. In order to enhance the robustness of the network against dynamical vehicle density and interference, a dynamic feedback power control scheme based on proportional-integral-derivative control is proposed. In this scheme, a dynamic information dissemination model that captures the time-varying nature of vehicle density is firstly proposed. This model qualities the network performance in terms of tracking information dissemination rate under the effect of dynamic vehicle density. Then, a predictive model is presented to predict, in a dynamic and receding-horizon fashion, the ideal information dissemination rate by considering the dynamics of vehicle density. Finally, a feedback control model that adjusts the transmission power in a closed-loop fashion is introduced. The feedback control model integrates the ideal state of information dissemination rate and the current real state that may be affected by interference to generate real-time power control strategies. These power control strategies will guide the actual network to evolve towards the ideal information dissemination rate. Experimental results confirm that the proposed power control scheme can gain a high accurate vehicle tracking performance for each vehicle and is robust to variations of traffic situation.     

Iterative learning control of antilock braking of electric and hybrid vehicles

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) use multiple sources of power for propulsion which provides great ease and flexibility to achieve advanced controllability and additional driving performance. In this paper, the electric motor in HEV and electric vehicle (EV) propulsion systems is used to achieve antilock braking performance without a conventional antilock braking system (ABS). The paper illustrates that the antilock braking of HEV can be easily achieved using iterative learning control for various road conditions. A vehicle model, a slip ratio model, and a vehicle speed observer were developed to control the antilock performance of HEV during braking. Through iterative learning process, the motor torque is optimized to keep the tire slip ratio corresponding to the peak traction coefficient during braking. Simulations were performed on a compact size vehicle to validate the proposed control method. The control algorithm proposed in this paper may also be used for the ABS control of conventional vehicles.     

Performance of closed-loop power control in DS-CDMA cellularsystems

In situations where the round-trip delay between the mobile and the base stations is smaller than the correlation time of the channel, power control schemes using feedback from the base station can effectively compensate for the fast fading due to multipath. We study several closed-loop power control (CLPC) algorithms by analysis and detailed simulation. We introduce a new loglinear model for analyzing the received power correlation statistics of a CLPC scheme. The model provides analytical expressions for the temporal correlation of the power controlled channel parameterized by the update rate, loop delay, and vehicle speed. The received power correlation statistics quantify the ability of closed-loop power control to compensate for the time-varying channel. To study more complex update strategies, detailed simulations that estimate the channel bit-error performance are carried out. Simulation results are combined with coding bounds to obtain quasi-analytic estimates of the reverse link capacity in a direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) cellular system. The quasi-analytic approach quantifies the performance improvements due to effective power control in both single-cell and multicell DS-CDMA systems operating over both frequency-nonselective and frequency-selective fading channels. The effect of nonstationary base stations on the system performance is also presented     

Fuzzy Sliding-Mode Control of Active Suspensions

In this paper, a robust fuzzy sliding-mode controller for active suspensions of a nonlinear half-car model is introduced. First, a nonchattering sliding-mode control is presented. Then, this control method is combined with a single-input–single-output fuzzy logic controller to improve its performance. The negative value of the ratio between the derivative of error and error is the input and the slope constant of the sliding surface of the nonchattering sliding-mode controller is the output of the fuzzy logic controller. Afterwards, a four-degree-of-freedom nonlinear half-car model, which allows wheel hops and includes a suspension system with nonlinear spring and piecewise linear damper with dry friction, is presented. The designed controllers are applied to this model in order to evaluate their performances. It has been shown that the designed controller does not cause any problem in suspension working limits. The robustness of the proposed controller is also investigated for different vehicle parameters. The results indicate the success of the proposed fuzzy sliding-mode controller.      

基于LabView的减振器试验台测控系统设计

采用闭环激振控制结构设计并成功实现了一种油压减振器试验台测控系统，系统采用电液比例驱动的位置闭环控制，数据的采集及控制算法实现是在LabVIEW环境下，通过NI的PCI6221卡完成的。本文主要介绍系统的构成及工作流程，介绍了程序设计中的几个关键功能子VI：频率队列、自动建立文档目录、数据采集及激振控制等。本系统对于研究油压减振器性能参数，高速列车油压减振器对轮轨作用动力性能影响有着重要的意义，对同类系统的研发有参考价值。     

Cross‐Layer Resource Allocation in Multi‐interface Multi‐channel Wireless Multi‐hop Networks

In this paper, an analytical framework is proposed for the optimization of network performance through joint congestion control, channel allocation, rate allocation, power control, scheduling, and routing with the consideration of fairness in multi‐channel wireless multi‐hop networks. More specifically, the framework models the network by a generalized network utility maximization (NUM) problem under an elastic link data rate and power constraints. Using the dual decomposition technique, the NUM problem is decomposed into four subproblems — flow control; next‐hop routing; rate allocation and scheduling; power control; and channel allocation — and finally solved by a low‐complexity distributed method. Simulation results show that the proposed distributed algorithm significantly improves the network throughput and energy efficiency compared with previous algorithms.     

基于无人机的输电线路设备识别方法研究

利用无人机进行输电线路巡检是近几年国内外研究的热点技术之一,其优点是在无需拉闸断电的情况下,即可对输电线路进行检测,对其故障进行判别。根据输电线路设备的特征,应用图像处理与模式识别技术,提出了一种识别绝缘子、防震锤和输电塔的方法。该方法先采用中值滤波、膨胀和腐蚀等方法对灰度化后的航拍图像进行预处理,然后提取预处理后图像的小波特征值,最后采用AP（Affinity Propagation）聚类方法对目标图像进行分类与识别。实验结果表明,所提出的方法能够有效的识别绝缘子、防震锤和输电塔等目标,具有较好的鲁棒性和准确性。     

Comparative Study of Fuel-Cell Vehicle Hybridization with Battery or Supercapacitor Storage Device

This paper studies the impact of fuel-cell (FC) performance and control strategies on the benefits of hybridization. One of the main weak points of the FC is slow dynamics dominated by a temperature and fuel-delivery system (pumps, valves, and, in some cases, a hydrogen reformer). As a result, fast load demand will cause a high voltage drop in a short time, which is recognized as a fuel-starvation phenomenon. Therefore, to employ an FC in vehicle applications, the electrical system must have at least an auxiliary power source to improve system performance when electrical loads demand high energy in a short time. The possibilities of using a supercapacitor or a battery bank as an auxiliary source with an FC main source are presented in detail. The studies of two hybrid power systems for vehicle applications, i.e., FC/battery and FC/supercapacitor hybrid power sources, are explained. Experimental results with small-scale devices (a polymer electrolyte membrane FC of 500 W, 40 A, and 13 V; a lead-acid battery module of 33 Ah and 48 V; and a supercapacitor module of 292 F, 500 A, and 30 V) in a laboratory authenticate that energy-storage devices can assist the FC to meet the vehicle power demand and help achieve better performance, as well as to substantiate the excellent control schemes during motor-drive cycles.     

Model predictive control of vehicle stability using coordinated active steering and differential brakes

This paper studies model predictive control of lateral stability of vehicles using coordinated active front steering and differential brakes. The controller is designed based on a bicycle model of the vehicle and the moment of the differential brakes is considered as an external torque. The prediction model calculates the prospective values of the vehicle’s yaw rate, lateral velocity, and tire slip angles over the prediction window. The sideslip angle of the vehicle is enforced within a permissible range using soft constraints on the lateral velocity in order to guarantee persistent feasibility. Using computer simulations, the controller is shown to provide proactive control actions to control the vehicle’s sideslip angle. The closed-loop response of the controller is also studied in experimental tests on an instrumented test vehicle. The results show satisfactory performance in various combinations of active front steering and differential brakes. In addition, the computational time of the controller is measured and shown to be safely below the sample time of the controller.     

Control and experimental study of 6-DOF vibration isolation platform with magnetorheological damper

Vibration is an inevitable excitation in the operation of the mechanical system, which reduces its reliability and service life. Therefore, a heavy-duty 6-DOF semi-active vibration isolation system (VIS) with magnetorheological (MR) damper was proposed in this paper. Firstly, A MR damper with large output force of 27 kN was designed. The properties test results showed that the dynamic range (the adjustable multiple of damping force) of the damper is as high as 15, which has excellent dynamic performance. And a Bouc-Wen model which can accurately describe the mechanical behavior of the MR damper was established. Secondly, the prototype of the MR 6-DOF vibration isolation platform (VIP) with cubic structure was developed. Thirdly, a on-off semi-active control strategy was proposed for the MR 6-DOF VIP. The numerical simulation results showed that the semi-active VIS can effectively isolate vibration in the working frequency domain. Finally, the vibration experiment on shaking table was carried out. The test results showed that the designed heavy-duty MR 6-DOF semi-active VIP can control the load's attitude in real-time according to the system state. Compared with the current of 0 A, the vibration isolation effect of the on-off control is improved by 63.27% in the resonance region. The MR 6-DOF VIP can effectively reduce the vibration transmitted to the isolated system through the platform.     

Versuchsgestützte Modellierung von Kfz-Stoßdämpfern für die dynamische Mehrkörpersimulation (MKS)

This paper is concerned with a more detailed shock absorber model to increase the quality of full vehicle models for dynamic and comfort computations in the multi-body systems software ADAMS. The new model is based on hydrodynamic consideration. Compared with conventional damper models it is able to cover a wide amplitude and frequency range due to a simple but robust physical modeling. For parameter identification and verification of the damper model measurements of typical car dampers were realized.     

A linear motor damper for vibration control of steel structures

A hybrid mass damper based on the linear motor principle is developed to suppress structural vibration. We will call it a linear motor damper in this paper. This paper deals with the design, analysis, and manufacture of the linear motor damper. It consists of the NdFeB permanent magnets, a coil-wrapped nonmagnetic hollow rectangular structure, an iron core, mechanical springs, and so on. It is designed to be able to move the auxiliary mass of 1500 kg, up to ±250 mm stroke. A series of performance tests for the linear mass damper with H_∞ robust controller are carried out on a steel frame structure. Through performance tests, it is confirmed that the developed hybrid mass damper has reliable feasibility as a control device for structural control. In addition, the linear motor damper is more economical than both hydraulic and electric motor driving mass damper with respect to simple structure and low maintenance cost.     

基于SmartFusion的无人机飞行控制系统设计

为了使无人机飞行控制系统具有强大的数据处理能力、较低的功耗、较强的灵活性和更高的集成度,提出了一种以SmartFusion为核心的无人机飞行控制系统解决方案。为满足飞控系统实时性和稳定性的要求,系统采用了μC/OS-Ⅱ实时操作系统。与传统的无人机飞行控制系统相比,在具有很强的数据处理能力的同时拥有较小的体积和较低的功耗。多次飞行证明,各个模块设计合理,整个系统运行稳定,可以用作下一代无人机高性能应用平台。     

An Analytical Framework for Imperfect DS‐CDMA Closed‐Loop Power Control over Flat Fading

This letter presents an analytical framework for a performance analysis of the imperfect direct‐sequence code division multiple access (DS‐CDMA) closed‐loop power control (CLPC) loop with loop delay, channel estimation error, and power control command bit error as the parameters under a Rayleigh flat fading environment. The proposed model is verified through a comparison between analytical results and simulation ones.