Model-Independent Adaptive Fault-Tolerant Output Tracking Control of 4WS4WD Road Vehicles

This paper investigates the path-tracking control problem of four-wheel-steering and four-wheel-driving (4WS4WD) road vehicles. Of particular interest is the development of an adaptive and fault-tolerant tracking control scheme capable of compensating vehicle uncertain dynamics/disturbances and actuation failures simultaneously. Control algorithms are derived without requiring detail system dynamic information. The control scheme is shown to be effective in coping with unexpected actuation faults without the need for analytically estimating bound on actuator failure variables. The proposed method is validated and demonstrated through its application to a wheeled vehicle with four steering wheels and four driving wheels, where high-precision path tracking is achieved in the face of steering faults.