Robust Inter-Vehicle Spacing Control for Battery Electric Vehicles with One-Pedal-Driving Feature

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with one-pedal driving (OPD) features have demonstrated significant potentials in reducing energy consumption, improving driving comfort, and enhancing driving safety. Besides, vehicle platooning can provide dramatic energy-saving benefits for BEVs and extend electric driving ranges. This paper presents a robust sliding mode control (SMC)-based inter-vehicle distance controller for an OPD-enabled BEV to achieve the desired inter-vehicle distance in vehicle platooning applications, in presence of uncertainties such as aerodynamic drag coefficient, road grade, and rolling resistance coefficient. The proposed SMC-based controller was validated during highly dynamic driving cycles in simulation and on the test track. The simulation results and experimental results demonstrated that the proposed sliding mode controller can achieve the desired inter-vehicle distance with high robustness against various uncertainties.