Real-Time Longitudinal Location Estimation of Vehicle Center of Gravity

The longitudinal location of a vehicle’s center of gravity (CG) is used as an important parameter for vehicle safety control systems, and can change considerably according to various driving conditions. Accordingly, for the better performance of vehicle safety control systems, it is essential to obtain the accurate CG location. However, it is generally difficult to acquire the value of this parameter directly through sensors due to cost reasons. In this study, a practical algorithm for estimating vehicle’s longitudinal CG location in real time is proposed. This algorithm is derived based only on longitudinal motion of the vehicle, excluding excessive lateral, yaw and roll movements of the vehicle. Moreover, the proposed algorithm has main differences from previous studies in that it does not require information such as vehicle mass, vehicle moments of inertia, road grade or tire-road surface friction, which are difficult to acquire. In the proposed algorithm, the relationship between the ratio of rear-to-front tire longitudinal force and the corresponding wheel slips are used to determine the CG location. To demonstrate a practical use of the proposed algorithm, the ideal brake force distribution is tested. The proposed CG estimation algorithm and its practical use are verified via simulations and experiments using a test vehicle equipped with electro-mechanical brakes in the rear wheels. It is shown that the estimated CG locations are close to the actual ones, and that the deceleration can be maximized by the ideal brake force distribution.