State estimation and experimental verification of a robotic vehicle with six in-wheel drives using Kalman filter

In this research we present an algorithm for a six-wheeled robotic vehicle with articulated suspension (RVAS) to estimate the vehicle velocity and acceleration states, slip ratio and the tire forces. The estimation algorithm consists of six parts. In the first part, a wheel state estimator estimates the wheel rotational speed and its angular acceleration using Kalman filter, which is used to estimate the longitudinal tire force distribution in the second part. The third part is to estimate respective longitudinal, lateral, and vertical speeds of the vehicle and wheels. Based on these speeds, the slip ratio and slip angle are estimated in the fourth part. In the fifth part, the vertical tire force is then estimated. In the sixth part, the lateral tire force is then estimated. For a simulation test environment, the RVAS dynamic model is developed using Matlab and Simulink. The estimation algorithm is then verified in simulation using the vehicle test data and different test scenarios. It is found from simulation results that the proposed estimation algorithm can estimate the vehicle states, longitudinal tire forces efficiently. Moreover, a small prototype of the robotic vehicle is fabricated for experimental verification of the estimation algorithm. Various experiments are executed in pavement and off-road driving to estimate the wheel angular position, velocity and acceleration states and finally the slip ratio is estimated in these situations.