A Robust Path Tracking Controller for Autonomous Mobility with Control Delay Compensation Using Backstepping Control

Abstract

Control delay phenomena, such as time delays and actuator lags, can compromise the control performance of autonomous mobility systems, leading to increased control errors. Therefore, it is essential to develop a control delay compensation algorithm. This paper proposes a Lyapunov-based backstepping steering control algorithm to compensate for control delays in autonomous mobility systems. To estimate the control delay in the steering system, the Recursive Least Squares (RLS) algorithm was employed to calculate the time constant in real time. The control delay was estimated using an RLS designed based on a first-order differential equation. A backstepping steering controller was developed to calculate the desired steering angle using simplified error dynamics for reference path tracking. The control errors, specifically the lateral preview and yaw angle errors, were derived by calculating the path error between the current position and the waypoint. The performance of the proposed control algorithm was evaluated using the DC motor and CarMaker software 8.1.1(IPG Automotive, Karlsruhe, Germany) under scenarios involving sinusoidal input and four-curved loop and S-curved paths respectively.