Comparative Performance Analysis of Intelligent PID Controllers for a Mechatronic System

Applications of systems engineering in the automotive field have grown over the past two decades. This paper aims at a Model-Free Control (MFC) strategy for this type of application. It is a control method in the Data Driven Control (DDC) category that is suitable for systems with complex dynamics, uncertainties or dynamics that are difficult to model or with an unavailable model. Considering these reasons, MFC is an appropriate control method applicable to the complex dynamics of automotive systems. This paper presents a comparative analysis of two types of MFC controllers: intelligent proportional (iP) and intelligent proportional derivative (iPD) for a mechatronic system application. The system takes into account the longitudinal speed control of the vehicle. First, some authors results on the design of iP and iPD controllers are reviewed. Then, the intelligent controllers are tested in simulation considering the requirement to maintain the desired vehicle speed under different traffic conditions such as urban and extra-urban driving cycles. The control performances of the iP and iPD controllers are compared using different performance indices, with a classical PID controller added to the comparison.