Robust estimation of vehicle sideslip angle from variables measured by ESC system

The vehicle sideslip angle β is one of the most important variables for evaluating vehicle dynamics. In particular, several studies has shown that its knowledge may allow the design of ESC systems having significantly better performances over the standard ones based on yaw rate control, see e.g. [1,2]. However, direct measurement of β requires the use of complex and expensive devices (based on optical or inertial+GPS technologies) which cannot be used in production cars. Therefore, the estimation of the sideslip angle from signals measured from standard ESC sensors (steering angle, longitudinal speed, yaw rate, lateral and longitudinal accelerations) has been intensively studied in the last years, see e.g. [3,4,5,6] and the references therein. All these investigations are based on a Two-Step design procedure: a suitable model of vehicle dynamics is first identified making use of experimental data measured on a testing vehicle; then one of existing observer/filtering method (Kalman Filter, Sliding Mode Observer, Moving Horizon Estimator, …) is used for designing the estimator, here called TSVS/SA (Two-Step Virtual Sensor of Sideslip Angle), see Figure 1A.