Resource-Efficient Path-Following Control for a Self-Driving Car in a Networked Control System

Abstract

The main aim of this work is to reduce the use of resources (bandwidth, batteries) in a networked control system (NCS) while maintaining an accurate path following for a self-driving car. Some typical network-induced drawbacks such as time-varying delays, packet dropouts and packet disorder will also be coped with. In order to reach the goals, a systematic integration of periodic event-triggered sampling techniques, packet-based control strategies, and state estimation methods is proposed. A novel non-uniform dual-rate extended Kalman filter (NUDREKF) is formulated to estimate the system state at fast, control rate from scarce slow-rate measurements. Due to its mathematical simplicity and low computational cost, the dynamic control law is designed from an inverse kinematic bicycle model and a proportional feedforward controller. Interestingly, optimal parameters for the event-triggered conditions are reached, leading to a satisfactory trade-off between resource savings and control performance. Simulation results for a real trajectory considering actual limitations for the actuators reveal the benefits of the control proposal compared to a conventional control approach.INDEX TERMS Event-triggered communication, Kalman filter, networked control system, resource efficiency, self-driving car.