Maneuvering Support System for an Amphibian Vehicle – Warning Display to Prevent Rough Maneuvers

[abstFig src='/00290003/14.jpg' width='300' text='Amphibian vehicle maneuvering simulator' ] This study proposes a maneuvering support system for an amphibian vehicle by applying a nonlinear state feedback control law for vehicle trajectory control. We consider that the vehicle should not drift sideways for good driving performance. To derive a nonlinear state feedback control law, we have defined ‘Maneuvering Trajectory’ as an additional reference trajectory that is generated by the driver’s maneuver. We have constructed a Lyapunov-like function for the trajectory control system. In this paper, we construct a vehicle-maneuvering simulator and set a clockwise circular reference trajectory. The efficiency of the proposed maneuvering support system is shown in the maneuvering simulations. We consider the case where the propulsive forces of the vehicle have limited influence on maneuverability. A new warning display system is proposed so that the driver can recognize if his or her maneuver is not suitable. Then, we examine the feasibility of the proposed warning display system through several simulations.