Methodology of Development of an Adaptive Stabilization System for Equipment of Unmanned Vehicle

Abstract

The article is devoted to the development of an adaptive stabilization system for equipment installed on unmanned ground vehicles operated in extreme impassable or difficult-to-pass conditions, which determine the nature and specificity of the impact of disturbances on the installed equipment. The article considers a mini-class unmanned ground vehicles, and a four-wheeled platform is considered as a simplified model of such a vehicle. As extreme impassable or difficult-to-pass traffic conditions, terrain with a complex profile, additional impulse disturbances that simulate hills and pits, and the slope of the traffic surface are considered. A two-axis stabilization system with classic PI controllers in the stabilization channels relative to the transverse and longitudinal axes is used as the base. The modeling and analysis of the basic system showed that in the described conditions of the unmanned ground vehicles movement, the stabilization errors in both channels exceed the permissible values, and taking into account the nonlinearities and possible changes in inertial characteristics, such a system becomes inoperable. To develop the adaptive system, the method of Model Reference Adaptive Control with additional damping of parameters was used. Based on this method, an adaptive PI controller was developed for use in the channels of the stabilization system relative to the transverse and longitudinal axes. The adaptive system was simulated in extreme impassable or difficult-to-pass conditions of the unmanned ground vehicles movement, taking into account the influence of nonlinearities in the engine and gearbox, as well as taking into account the increase in the load on the gearbox shaft by 2 and 3 times compared to the adopted design value. It is shown that the stabilization errors of the adaptive system in both channels do not exceed the established permissible value, and the presence of nonlinear characteristics and a change in the load do not lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the adaptive stabilization system.