ROBOTS BEHIND THE WHEEL : GPS/INS-VEHICLE ASSESSMENT

Abstract

Motor vehicle manufacturers need to verify the safety and steering response of newly developed models. This article describes a path- following robot that uses Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial navigation to repeatedly guide automobiles on exactly the same track over test courses. The robot was designed to clamp onto existing steering wheels or actually replace the steering wheel. In order to have the steering robot function also function as a path-following robot, it needed: 1) a method for measuring the position of the vehicle on the road; 2) software to generate desired paths; and, 3) a control algorithm to convert the position errors to steering wheel positions. The robot was then applied to the following three tests: circle test, step-steer test, and elk or roll-over test. Results showed that the path-following robot accurately measured steering angle and torque, roll angle, slip angle, accelerations, and velocities.