Design and Simulation of Vehicle Motion Tracking System using a Youla Controller Output Observation System

Abstract: This paper presents a novel linear robust Youla controller output observation system for tracking vehicle motion trajectories using a simple nonlinear kinematic vehicle model, supplemented with positional data from a radar sensor. The proposed system operates across the full vehicle trajectory range with only three linear observers, improving upon previous methods that required four nonlinear observers. To ensure smooth transitions between Youla controllers and observers, a switching technique is introduced, preventing bumps during controller changes. The proposed observer system is evaluated through simulations, demonstrating accurate and robust estimation of longitudinal and lateral positions, vehicle orientation, and velocity from sensor measurements during various standard driving maneuvers. Results are provided for different driving scenarios, including lane changes and intersection crossings, where significant changes in vehicle orientation occur. The novelty of this work lies in the first application of a Youla controller output observer for vehicle tracking estimation.