Robust speed control of an autonomous vehicle using disturbance observer

This paper presents a robust speed control of an autonomous vehicle using a disturbance observer. For the purpose, the transfer function of speed dynamics of an autonomous vehicle is identified using step response data. Based on the identified transfer function, model based PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) control is designed. In order to design a robust control - - against load variations on the vehicle, a disturbance observer (DOB) based control is devised. The performance of the designed DOB based control is demonstrated by real experiments.