YAW RATE ESTIMATION FOR VEHICLE CONTROL APPLICATIONS

This paper describes a method for vehicle yaw rate estimation using tw o accelerometers and a steer angle sensor: This yaw rate estimate can be used as an inexpensive alternative to commercial yaw rate sensors i n vehicle control applications. The proposed method combines two compl ementary approaches to yaw rate estimation using accelerometers. This new method is superior to either method used by itself: This paper pre sents the new approach, supporting analyses, simulation results and ex perimental validation. The simulation results are based upon both line ns and nonlinear vehicle dynamics models and include important effects such as sensor drift and noise, disturbances acting on the vehicle, a nd model uncertainties. The experimental validation is based on lest d ata from a specially instrumented vehicle driven on a test track. Thes e results indicate that the proposed yaw rate estimation scheme perfor mance well for a wide range of operating conditions and is not difficu lt to implement.