A comparison among different methods to estimate vehicle sideslip angle

Accurate measurement of the vehicle sideslip angle is fundamental to improve reliability of the vehicle dynamics control systems focused on stability and developed both for safety and performance optimization. Many experimental procedures to estimate the vehicle sideslip angle have been proposed in the last years, mainly based on GPS, INS and physical models. The aim of this paper is to compare different methods to estimate sideslip angle employing an instrumented vehicle, equipped with a system for data acquisition and time-synchronized storage capabilities, a stand-alone GPS, a GPS aided MEMS-based Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) and specific sensors to collect data on the steering wheel angle and on the position of brake, throttle and clutch pedals. Further information is collected by capturing the available data at the OBD port of the vehicle. Data acquisitions (from all sensors) are synchronized by means of an external triggering signal. After driving sessions performed with specific manoeuvres in order to highlight the main phenomena concerned with the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle, the different estimation procedures have been applied, discussing on the advantages and the degree of reliability of each one of them.