Key Challenge in the Field of Platoon Formation: Observer-Based Event-Triggered Sliding Mode Formation Control for Multivehicle Systems with External Disturbances

This paper addresses the formation control problem for multivehicle systems subjected to external disturbances. A composite control scheme is developed that integrates a disturbance observer and a state observer to achieve precise estimations of both exogenous disturbances and system states, enabling robust disturbance compensation. The proposed approach leverages estimated states for intervehicle information exchange, effectively addressing the practical limitations associated with complete state measurement and reducing communication resource demands. Building upon this framework, we propose a novel event-triggered sliding mode control algorithm that systematically tackles key challenges, including external disturbances, complex vehicle dynamics, and communication efficiency. The stability and convergence of the algorithm are rigorously established through Lyapunov stability theory and matrix analysis, with explicit confirmation of the preclusion of Zeno behavior. Comprehensive validation, conducted through Simulink simulations and real-vehicle-in-loop-simulation experiments, confirms the algorithm’s effectiveness, robustness, and ability to reject disturbances, particularly in scenarios involving sudden pulse disturbances. The results demonstrate significant enhancements in formation control performance while preserving communication efficiency.