Abstract
The paper presents a path tracking controller for a fast rover which has independent front and rear steering and four independent driven wheels. The paper develop first the dynamic model of the vehicle moving on a horizontal plane. Next, the model is linearized by assuming that the side slip angles remain small and a linear lateral slippage model introducing the lateral contact stiffness is used. The kinematics of the vehicle is also linearized by assuming that the rover remains close a reference path and with a small relative heading angle. The linearized model permits the design of a Linear Quadratic Regulator LQR which is tested by using Matlab-Simulink/Adams co-simulation. Simulation results, obtained with numerous reference paths, show a good control accuracy and appears to be robust with respect to environment and robot state changes