Studies of Collisions and Control Strategies in Vehicle Following Operations by Two-Dimensional Impact Simulation

The major accomplishments from this project can be categorized into the following areas: (1) Adoption of a vehicle-collision simulation tool with an interface that allows the implementation of feedback controller. (2) Thorough analysis and modeling of vehicle lateral dynamics in collision situations, which permits the selection and design of controllers for emergency conditions. (3) Validation of feasibility of applying steering control in vehicle-following conditions to stabilize vehicle trajectories, thus establishing an option of control strategies in safety-critical operations. To evaluate a wide range of operating scenarios, a simple yet robust controller is desirable for the purpose of this study. A generic look-ahead controller, which has been tested extensively in experiments, is chosen for analysis, modeling, and simulation. The analysis shows that the selected generic controller is effective. There are a variety of issues that need to be resolved before the suggested function can be successfully realized for practical purposes. The reliability of sensing systems to provide consistent and accurate information is essential. The strategy of recovering or securing sensing data in emergency and collision situations will determine the validity of feedback control. The physical limitations of control systems must be fully evaluated to establish the accident scenarios suitable for activating the driver-assistance function. These remain topics of future studies. KEY WORDS: Vehicle Collisions Simulation of Vehicle Crashes Vehicle Control in Collisions Advanced Vehicle Control Systems