Steering Vehicle Control by Switched Model Predictive Control

We propose a switching Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategy to control vehicle steering by actuating active front steering (AFS) and electronic stability control (ESC). After describing the piecewise affine prediction model used for MPC design, where the nonlinearities arise from the relation between sideslip angles and tire forces, a switching MPC strategy is implemented, where different local MPC controllers are used depending on the current tire force conditions. The designed controller maintains most of the benefits of a previously designed hybrid model predictive controller, but it has lower complexity and allows more flexible design. The controller stability is verified and the controller behavior during challenging step steering maneuvers is tested in closed-loop simulations against a nonlinear vehicle model.