A Robust Steering Assistance System for Road Departure Avoidance

A driver-assistance system (DAS) that combines an automatic road departure avoidance (RDA) system with the driver's steering input is presented. The system is based on a closed-loop driver decision estimator (DDE), which establishes the risk of road departure. If a road departure is likely to occur, the RDA system intervenes by correcting the steering angle. Robustness is guaranteed by an Hinf controller designed to take into consideration the main uncertainties affecting the dynamics. Driver-in-the-loop tests evaluate the performance of the system in terms of robustness, risk of road departure, and driving experience. Experiments show that the system is effective in reducing the risk of road departure without impeding maneuverability.