Unmanned Navigation of the 1/10 Vehicle Using U-SAT

In order for a vehicle to follow a predetermined trajectory accurately, its position must be estimated accurately and reliably. In this paper, we propose new lateral control methods for unmanned vehicles and a positioning system using ultrasonic waves. The positioning problem is considered as an important issue of control problem for unmanned navigation of a vehicle. Dead Reckoning is widely used for positioning of vehicle. However this method has problems because it accumulates estimation errors. We propose a new method to increase the accuracy of position estimation using the Ultrasonic Satellite system. It is shown that we will be able to estimate the position of vehicle precisely, in which errors are not accumulated. We also propose new lateral control methods including a new path planning method and a heading angle modulator. The experimental results show that the proposed methods enable accurate vehicle trajectory tracking under various environmental factors.