Path tracking control of high‐speed intelligent vehicles considering model mismatch

Abstract The precision of path tracking in high‐speed intelligent vehicles is significantly influenced by model mismatch arising from factors like parameter uncertainty, model simplification, external disturbances, and other sources. In this paper, we propose a novel robust control strategy that integrates the compensation function observer (CFO) with the model predictive control (MPC) method, utilizing an optimized vehicle dynamics model (opt‐model) to address this challenge, called OCMPC. Initially, we establish the opt‐model to design predictive model by leveraging suspension kinematics and compliance (K&C) data collected from a miniature pure electric vehicle. Remarkably, the opt‐model exhibits improved accuracy compared to the conventional vehicle dynamics model (con‐model) while preserving the same degrees of freedom (DOF). Next, we incorporate CFO into the path tracking process of high‐speed intelligent vehicles, enabling dynamic real‐time observation of the model mismatch between the prediction model and the actual vehicle. CFO can capture the dynamics of the vehicle, including nonlinearities and uncertainties, without placing a heavy computing burden on the controller. This observed mismatch is subsequently employed for feed‐forward compensation, facilitating the attainment of optimal control values. Ultimately, we validate the effectiveness of our proposed method in enhancing path tracking accuracy for high‐speed intelligent vehicles through co‐simulation using Simulink and Carsim.