Locally supervised neural networks for approximating terramechanics models

Neural networks (NNs) have been widely implemented for identifying nonlinear models, and predicting the distribution of targets, due to their ability to store and learn training samples. However, for highly complex systems, it is difficult to build a robust global network model, and efficiently managing the large amounts of experimental data is often required in real-time applications. In this paper, an effective method for building local models is proposed to enhance robustness and learning speed in globally supervised NNs. Unlike NNs, Gaussian processes (GP) produce predictions that capture the uncertainty inherent in actual systems, and typically provides superior results. Therefore, in this study, each local NN is learned in the same manner as a Gaussian process. A mixture of local model NNs is created and then augmented using weighted regression. This proposed method, referred to as locally supervised NN for weighted regression like GP, is abbreviated as “LGPN”, is utilized for approximating a wheel-terrain interaction model under fixed soil parameters. The prediction results show that the proposed method yields significant robustness, modeling accuracy, and rapid learning speed.