Optimal control of an autonomous ground vehicle

A control algorithm designed for a ground vehicle that will be the basis for future autonomous control experiments was developed. Research included the design of desired state trajectories, the feedback control law, signal analysis, and filter design. The vehicle dynamics were derived from a three degree-of-freedom model and several state trajectories were developed. From these a control law was designed and is presented. Testing of the sensors was done in order to analyze the process noise and to develop a signal filter. Simulations were conducted demonstrating the effectiveness of the control design. The results show that the designs establish a guideline for the future implementation experiments.