On linear-parameter-varying (LPV) slip-controller design for two-wheeled vehicles

This paper describes the application of linear-parameter-varying (LPV) control design techniques to the problem of slip control for two-wheeled vehicles. A nonlinear multi-body motorcycle simulator is employed to derive a control-oriented dynamic model. It is shown that, in order to devise a robust controller with good performance, it is necessary to take into account the dependence of the model on the velocity and on the wheel slip. This dependence is modeled via an LPV system constructed from Jacobian linearizations at different velocities and slip values. The control problem is formulated as a model-matching control problem within the LPV framework; a specific modification of the LPV control synthesis algorithm is proposed to alleviate controller interpolation problems. Linear and nonlinear simulations indicate that the synthesized controller achieves the required robustness and performance. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.