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One seminal question that faces a vehicle's driver (either human or computer) is predicting the capability of the vehicle as it encounters upcoming terrain. A Location-Aware Adaptive Vehicle Dynamics (LAAVD) System is developed to assist the driver in maintaining vehicle handling capabilities through various driving maneuvers. In contrast to current active safety systems, this system is predictive rather than reactive. This work provides the conceptual groundwork for the proposed system. The LAAVD System employs a predictor-corrector method in which the driver's input commands (throttle, brake, steering) and upcoming driving environment (terrain, traffic, weather) are predicted. An Intervention Strategy uses a novel measure of handling capability, the Performance Margin, to assess the need to intervene. The driver's throttle and brake control are modulated to affect desired changes to the Performance Margin in a manner that is minimally intrusive to the driver's control authority.

One seminal question that faces a vehicle's driver (either human or computer) is predicting the capability of the vehicle as it encounters upcoming terrain. A Performance Margin (PM) is defined in this work as the ratio of the required tractive effort to the available tractive effort for the front and rear respectively. This simple definition stems from and incorporates many traditional handling metrics and is robust in its scope of applicability. The PM is implemented in an Intervention Strategy demonstrating its use to avoid situations in which the vehicle exceeds its handling capabilities. Results from a design case study are presented to show the potential efficacy of developing a PM-based control system.