Predictive Motion Control Considering Body Attitude Constraints for Four in-Wheel Motor Vehicles

In-wheel motor distributed-drive electric vehicles have the unique characteristic of being able to control the torque of each wheel independently and accurately. However, when connected to a suspension system with anti-pitch geometry, the resulting output torque of the in-wheel motor can cause significant vertical forces, leading to body attitude oscillations during driving or braking. To address this issue, this study proposes an innovative predictive motion controller that combines learning model predictive control (MPC) and body attitude control. This controller determines the total driving torque, desired roll moment, pitch moment, and vertical force, taking into consideration the constraints of body attitude, and a transfer matrix is then utilized to calculate the required torque for each wheel. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is validated through a Simulink/Modelon co-simulation test. The results demonstrate the significant superiority of the proposed predictive motion controller over the default controller. Specifically, it enhances speed and trajectory tracking accuracy by 2.3% and 34.2%, respectively, when compared with the nonlinear MPC controller.