Control capability analysis of vehicle lateral stability systems based on scalar field

This paper presents a systematic study on the control capabilities of Active Rear Steering (ARS), Rear Torque Vectoring (RTV), and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems in vehicle lateral stability. A projection-based metric of closed-loop state derivatives is proposed to quantify each system’s capability to regulate vehicle sideslip angle and yaw rate. Based on this metric, advantage regions for ARS, RTV, and ESC are defined on the sideslip angle–yaw rate phase plane, and their dependence on road adhesion, vehicle speed, and steering inputs is analyzed. A Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) model is further employed to predict the dynamic distribution of ARS–ESC advantage regions under varying conditions. Leveraging the quantified capability differences, a region-based cooperative strategy for ARS and ESC is developed, activating ESC only when ARS control capability falls below that of ESC. Simulation of double-lane change maneuvers demonstrates that the proposed strategy accurately determines ESC intervention timing, avoiding both unnecessary and missed activations. The framework provides a capability-based approach for assessing and coordinating lateral stability systems, offering guidance for cooperative control design.