Vehicle Stabilization During Critical Cornering Scenarios Using Sliding Surface Control

Crash statistics demonstrate that speeding is often associated with loss of control vehicle crashes. This paper presents an approach which integrates steering and braking actuation to provide driver support in corner over-speed scenarios. The proposed hierarchical controller defines a path-following function for the desired cornering radius and then determines appropriate braking and steering inputs, using sliding surface control, to drive the vehicle to the desired path. Simulations demonstrate that the sliding surface controller design can outperform a human driver model in keeping the vehicle on the roadway, employing a complex sequence of braking and steering inputs only feasible with the addition of a modern vehicle control system.