IP Library Granted Patent US 12,434,722
Granted Patent B2
US 12,434,722 · App. 17/953,568 · Granted Oct 7, 2025

Methods and systems for lateral control of a vehicle

Inventors: Seyed Amin Sajadi Alamdari (Wuppertal, DE); Anand Vijaykumar (Wuppertal, DE)
Assignee: Aptiv Technologies AG
B60W50/0205B60W30/02G05B13/048B60W2420/403B60W2420/408B60W2420/54
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,434,722
App. No.
17/953,568
Filed
Sep 27, 2022
Granted
Oct 7, 2025
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3665
USPC
701/32.3
Abstract

A computer implemented method for lateral control of a vehicle comprises the following steps carried out by computer hardware components: determining a location error of the vehicle; determining an orientation error of the vehicle; determining a cost function based on the location error and the orientation error using a circular transformation; and processing the cost function in a model predictive controller to control the vehicle laterally.

Claims (57)

1. A computer-implemented method for lateral control of a vehicle, the computer-implemented method being carried out by computer hardware components and comprising:

determining a location error of the vehicle;

determining an orientation error of the vehicle;

determining a cost function based on the location error and the orientation error using a circular transformation; and

processing the cost function in a model predictive controller to control the vehicle laterally, wherein:

the cost function includes an integral over an error term,

the error term involves both the location error and the orientation error,

the error term includes a product based on the location error and the orientation error,

the cost function is determined according to equations (a) and (b):

e tr =cos θ e 2 *tan −1 ( d−d ref )+sin θ e 2 *θ e   (a)

J=∫ 0 T e tr 2   (b)

θ e represents the orientation error with respect to a reference,

d represents an initial value of a lateral offset from a vehicle sensor input,

d ref represents a reference value that the vehicle should track,

J represents the cost function that needs to be minimized, and

T represents a prediction horizon.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the cost function comprises a non-holonomic ellipsoid cost function.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the cost function is based on a cosine function.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the cost function is based on a sine function.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the cost function is based on a tangent function.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the vehicle laterally comprises determining the lateral offset of the vehicle.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the vehicle laterally comprises determining an optimal steering angle value.

8. A computer system comprising a plurality of computer hardware components configured to carry out instructions including:

determining a location error of a vehicle;

determining an orientation error of the vehicle;

determining a cost function based on the location error and the orientation error using a circular transformation; and

processing the cost function in a model predictive controller to control the vehicle laterally, wherein:

the cost function includes an integral over an error term,

the error term involves both the location error and the orientation error,

the error term includes a product based on the location error and the orientation error,

the cost function is determined according to equations (a) and (b):

e tr =cos θ e 2 *tan −1 ( d−d ref )+sin θ e 2 *θ e   (a)

J=∫ 0 T e tr 2   (b)

θ e represents the orientation error with respect to a reference,

d represents an initial value of a lateral offset from a vehicle sensor input,

d ref represents a reference value that the vehicle should track,

J represents the cost function that needs to be minimized, and

T represents a prediction horizon.

9. A vehicle comprising:

the computer system of claim 8 ; and

a sensor configured to determine the location error and/or the orientation error.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a camera, or a global navigation satellite system sensor.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions including:

determining a location error of a vehicle;

determining an orientation error of the vehicle;

determining a cost function based on the location error and the orientation error using a circular transformation; and

processing the cost function in a model predictive controller to control the vehicle laterally, wherein:

the cost function includes an integral over an error term, the error term involves both the location error and the orientation error,

the error term includes a product based on the location error and the orientation error,

the cost function is determined according to equations (a) and (b):

e tr =cos θ e 2 *tan −1 ( d−d ref )+sin θ e 2 *θ e   (a)

J=∫ 0 T e tr 2   (b)

θ e represents the orientation error with respect to a reference,

d represents an initial value of a lateral offset from a vehicle sensor input,

d ref represents a reference value that the vehicle should track,

J represents the cost function that needs to be minimized, and

T represents a prediction horizon.

Assignments (8)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 29, 2025
From: SAJADI ALAMDARI, SEYED AMIN; VIJAYKUMAR, ANAND
To: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Reel/Frame 072592/0795 →
ENTITY CONVERSION Recorded Aug 29, 2025
From: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
To: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES (2) S.À R.L.
Reel/Frame 072592/0852 →
MERGER Recorded Aug 29, 2025
From: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES (2) S.À R.L.
To: APTIV MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT SERVICES S.À R.L.
Reel/Frame 072593/0083 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 29, 2025
From: APTIV MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT SERVICES S.À R.L.
To: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES AG
Reel/Frame 072594/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 11, 2024
From: APTIV MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT SERVICES S.À R.L.
To: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES AG
Reel/Frame 066551/0219 →
MERGER Recorded Feb 11, 2024
From: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES (2) S.À R.L.
To: APTIV MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT SERVICES S.À R.L.
Reel/Frame 066566/0173 →
ENTITY CONVERSION Recorded Feb 11, 2024
From: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
To: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES (2) S.À R.L.
Reel/Frame 066746/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 7, 2022
From: SAJADI ALAMDARI, SEYED AMIN; VIJAYKUMAR, ANAND
To: APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Reel/Frame 061348/0631 →
Priority Claims (1)
EP 21199911 · Sep 29, 2021 · regional
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230100742A1 · Mar 30, 2023
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