Network-based coordinated motion control of large-scale transportation vehicles

A series of large-scale transportation vehicles have been developed to transfer huge and heavy objects. Such a multi-axle vehicle has a complex steering system that consists of a large number of independently controlled steer axles. To achieve smooth and accurate steering motion without slipping and sliding, realtime and coordinated control of the steer axles is essential. Based on the networked control system (NCS), a multimode steering control scheme is proposed. Through kinematical and dynamic analysis of the steering system and utilizing the inherent real-time data-sharing features of the NCS, a cross-coupled control algorithm is developed to improve the steering accuracy. The effectiveness of the network-based steering control method is verified through simulation and experimental results.