Periodic Adaptive Event‐Triggered Communication‐Based Path‐Following Control for a Radio‐Controlled Car

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a combination of communication, estimation and control techniques for path‐following of a radio‐controlled (RC) car. The proposed approach integrates: i) a periodic adaptive event‐triggered communication (PAETC) mechanism that regulates sensor‐to‐controller updates according to vehicle dynamics, ii) a non‐uniform extended Kalman filter (NUEKF) for state estimation from an irregular measurement signal and iii) a pure pursuit controller (PPC) for path‐following with straightforward control action generation. Unlike traditional time‐triggered communication, and periodic (static) event‐triggered strategies, the PAETC mechanism further reduces resource usage by transmitting measurements only when some dynamic thresholds are exceeded. Interestingly, dual‐rate sampling is also integrated to address some sensor limitations that lead to a slower working period, resulting in a further decrease in the number of transmissions. The NUEKF is able to provide the PPC with the estimates required to generate faster control actions and achieve satisfactory control performance. To accommodate a slower communication rate, the control signal is sent using a packet‐based control mechanism. A complex, realistic model of the RC car is implemented in Simscape Multibody. The model has been experimentally validated using a high‐fidelity platform such as Optitrack. The comprehensive approach leads to an excellent trade‐off between resource savings and path‐following behaviour, outperforming traditional time‐triggered and periodic event‐triggered mechanisms.