Intelligent Vehicle Complex Environment Path Following Capabilities, Based on a Telemetry Sensor Fusion Approach, Utilizing Open Loop Navigation

Intelligent Vehicles (IVs) present an emerging sector of automotive technology development. This study explores a specific subset of IV control logic known as path following. Complex environments, such as roadway intersections, present a significant challenge to autonomous navigation, due to the many non-standard permutations. This research sought to quantify the accuracy with which an IV could follow a set path, through a complex environment, without the aid of environmental sensors. This required the vehicle to utilize only onboard telemetry sensors to determine its relative global location in free space, and subsequently execute a move through it. The results validated the hypothesis, that an IV could follow a path, as described, with reasonable accuracy, for short distances. The vehicle navigated a 1:4.5 scale version of a complex intersection in Statesboro, GA, while maintaining effective lane tracking through four permutations of turns from the main avenue. This was accomplished by using a reverse kinematic telemetry sensor fusion approach, which leveraged the relative strengths and weaknesses of real-time processing, inertial measurement, and individual wheel speed