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An investigation is presented to elucidate the performance of a staggered, spanwise cambered biplane. The spanwise camber yielded wings forming a 'ʌ' or V ' when viewed streamwise. The configuration is examined in tennis of its aerodynamic and stability characteristics. The feasibility of negating the requirement for a conventional empennage is explored. Geometric variation encompassed front and back wing anhedral/dihedral angles yielding 49 combinations. Evaluation of the geometry was accomplished using both wind tunnel testing and numerical simulation. The results indicated that front wing dihedral in conjunction with aft wing anhedral was most beneficial, such that the benefit of wake spacing was maximised. Aerodynamic benefit was indicated compared to a conventional empennage geometry. The greatest disparity in behaviour of the fore and aft wing anhedral/dihedral distribution was in the high lift regime, where the nature of the stall varied. Simulations to establish the viability of the geometry in terms of controllability were also conducted and indicated that the configuration is viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a state-of-the-art estimation technique by cross-combining a number n of filters for high-precision, reliable and robust vehicle sideslip angle state estimation, over a full range of vehicle operations irrespective of the driving mission and disruptions that may occur in the system. A machine-learning algorithm based on decision trees connects several filters together to switch between them according to the driving context, ensuring the best possible state estimate for relatively small and large sideslip angle values. In conjunction with the above-mentioned aspects, a seamless transition between different vehicle models is attained by observing the key parameters characterizing the lateral motion of the vehicle. The tests conducted using a prototype vehicle on a snow-covered track confirm the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach.