Tracking Control for Four-Wheel Independently Actuated Electric Vehicles Based on Switching Techniques

This paper addresses the disturbance-rejection tracking control problem for four-wheel independently actuated (FWIA) electric vehicles. We propose a novel approach based on switching techniques to suppress various types of external dynamic disturbances acting on the vehicle system. To achieve this, the nonlinear dynamics of FWIA electric vehicles are represented in a specific Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy form with nonlinear consequents, which effectively reduces computational complexity and yields less conservative results for the design of the tracking control algorithm. First, starting from a specific TS fuzzy vehicle model without disturbances, we design a combined feedforward and feedback tracking control strategy. This control method improves tracking accuracy and enhances parameter robustness. Subsequently, we develop a fuzzy observer based on switching techniques to mitigate the impact of disturbances on tracking performance, ensuring that the tracking error converges exponentially to zero. Through simulation tests and comparative studies under a single-lane-change driving scenario, we demonstrate the theoretical and practical significance of this anti-disturbance tracking control method based on switching techniques.