On the Benefits of Torque Vectoring for Automated Collision Avoidance at the Limits of Handling

This paper presents a novel approach integrating motion replanning, path tracking and vehicle stability for collision avoidance using nonlinear Model Predictive Contouring Control. Employing torque vectoring capabilities, the proposed controller is able to stabilise the vehicle in evasive manoeuvres at the limit of handling. A nonlinear double-track vehicle model, together with an extended Fiala tyre model, is used to capture the nonlinear coupled longitudinal and lateral dynamics. The optimised control inputs are the steering angle and the four longitudinal wheel forces to minimise the tracking error in safe situations and maximise the vehicle-to-obstacle distance in emergency manoeuvres. These optimised longitudinal forces generate an additional direct yaw moment, enhancing the vehicle's lateral agility and aiding in obstacle avoidance and stability maintenance. The longitudinal tyre forces are constrained using the tyre friction cycle. The proposed controller has been tested on rapid prototyping hardware to prove real-time capability. In a high-fidelity simulation environment validated with experimental data, our proposed approach successfully avoids obstacles and maintains vehicle stability. It outperforms two baseline controllers: one without torque vectoring and another one without collision avoidance prioritisation. Furthermore, we demonstrate the robustness of the proposed approach to vehicle parameter variations, road friction, perception, and localisation errors. The influence of each variation is statistically assessed to evaluate its impact on the performance, providing guidelines for future controller design.