Author: Timothy Joseph Kirby

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

The EcoCAR Mobility Challenge is a student competition that tasks universities across North America with the hybridization and SAE Level 2 automation of a 2019 Chevy Blazer. In years 2 and 3 of the competition, the Ohio State EcoCAR team committed considerable effort to the development of an adaptive cruise control (ACC) feature. This paper provides a detailed discussion of what motivated the selection of a modified PID controller as the control method of choice for ACC. The state flow used by the team to achieve independent distance and velocity control is also reviewed. After designing the controller, the team performed particle swarm optimization to identify the ideal proportional, integral, and derivative gain values. In doing so, the team managed to greatly reduce maximum acceleration, RMS acceleration, and maximum jerk in simulation. While doing so, the efficiency of the vehicle was also improved by 8.45 percent. Then, in order to validate the real-world performance of the novel adaptive cruise controller, the team conducted a full range of anything-in-the-loop (XIL) testing. Across model, hardware, and vehicle closed-loop testing, Ohio State identified and resolved numerous potential issues in the controller and its implementation in the vehicle. Additionally, the safety and comfort of the ACC feature were verified across all testing environments, affirming the fidelity of the model and preparing the team for in-vehicle testing. Lastly, using a real target vehicle and live sensor data, Ohio State performed approach tests that demonstrate the functionality of its ACC in a real-world environment.