Combined automatic lane-keeping and driver's steering through a two DOF control strategy

In this paper, we address the problem of combining automatic lane-keeping and driver’s steering for either obstacle avoidance or lane-change maneuvers for passing purposes or any other desired maneuvers, through a closed-loop control strategy. The automatic lane-keeping control loop is never opened, and no on/off switching strategy is used. During the driver’s maneuver, the vehicle lateral dynamics are controlled by the driver himself through the vehicle steering system. When there is no driver’s steering action, the vehicle center of gravity tracks the center of the traveling lane thanks to the automatic lane-keeping system. At the beginning (end) of the maneuver, the lane-keeping task is released (resumed) safely and smoothly. The performance of the proposed closed-loop structure is shown both by means of simulations and through experimental results obtained along Italian highways.