Autonomous Vehicle Steering Control With Dual Heading Error Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous agricultural machines require robust navigation control systems to follow guidance paths accurately without operator oversight, as they must handle anomalies and corrections independently, which is challenging due to the absence of operator input.
Innovation Solution
A mobile machine with a chassis, ground-engaging elements, and actuators, controlled by a system that generates control signals to combine reference and distance heading errors, using a weighting algorithm and PID control functions to steer the machine along a guidance path, ensuring precise navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If automated guidance is used to enable machines to follow designated paths, then navigation precision is improved, but the system complexity increases due to the need for robust control systems without operator oversight
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into multiple independent modules: a guidance module that processes positioning data and generates reference paths, a path following module that calculates deviation errors, and a control execution module that generates actuator commands. This modular architecture improves navigation precision while managing system complexity through functional decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where the machine's actual position is constantly monitored, compared against the reference guidance path, and the resulting deviation errors are fed back to adjust control signals. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables high navigation precision by automatically correcting deviations without operator intervention.
2Volume of moving object
If full machine automation is implemented to eliminate operator space, then machine size and simplicity are improved, but the reliability requirements increase due to absence of operator oversight
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating reference guidance paths and anticipating required corrections before deviations become significant. The system proactively adjusts control signals based on predicted trajectory errors, enabling fully automated operation with high reliability without requiring operator intervention for anomaly handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated control system serves itself by autonomously monitoring its own performance, detecting deviations from the reference path, and generating corrective commands without external operator input. This self-service capability enables compact machine design without operator cabin while maintaining high reliability through autonomous anomaly detection and correction.
3Measurement precision
If multiple control values are generated for different heading errors, then navigation accuracy is improved, but the control algorithm complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control algorithm applies different control strategies for different types of heading errors: reference heading errors (deviations from the desired path orientation) are corrected using one control gain, while distance heading errors (deviations due to lateral displacement) are corrected using different control gains. This localized quality approach improves heading accuracy by tailoring control parameters to specific error types while keeping the algorithm structure manageable.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile machine including a chassis, a plurality of ground-engaging elements, a plurality of actuators for driving movement of the ground-engaging elements, and a controller for controlling each of the actuators to cause the mobile machine to follow a guidance path along a ground surface. The controller is configured to generate a first set of control values for driving the machine according to a first heading based on a reference heading error of the machine, generate a second set of control values for driving the machine according to a second heading based on a distance heading error of the machine, generate a current machine velocity using a prescribed machine velocity, the reference heading error, and the distance heading error, and generate control signals for driving the machine by combining the first set of control values, the second set of control values, and the current machine velocity.