A Novel Steering Control for Car-Like Robots Based on Lyapunov Stability

Abstract

Steering controls for car-like robots have been studied for a long time and attracted more and more research due to the recent boom of self-driving vehicles. A novel nonlinear steering control law for a scale-model car with applicability to any size vehicle is presented in this study. The proposed control employs both the lateral and angular errors at a lookahead distance which, along with the controller gain, is tuned dynamically as a function of velocity of the vehicle. Stability of the control law is demonstrated by Lyapunov analysis and the relationships from speed to look-ahead distance and control gain are also determined. Computation and actuator delays as well as steering saturation are modeled in the simulation for a more realistic performance index and effectiveness of the control.