Design of a networked traction control system using a real-time operating system

Abstract In this paper, a design procedure is proposed for networked control systems (NCSs) using an embedded real-time operating system (RTOS). In a conventional design of NCSs, well-designed control algorithms do not result in the intended control performance after an implementation because of time delays, such as network-induced delays and controller computation delays. The proposed design procedure shows how to minimize the degradation of the control performance caused by the time delays. A performance index (PI) is derived from the difference between the performance of a simulated system and the performance of an implemented system with time delays. By using the proposed PI, optimized periods and priorities of tasks and communication messages of NCSs were determined. The design procedure was verified by designing a networked traction control system (TCS) using a real-time operating system for automotive electronics, OSEK-OS. The designed TCS was realized and tested by using a rapid control prototyping platform and a hardware-in-the-loop simulation environment.