On the Stability of the Closed-Loop Teleoperated Vehicle and Teledriver System

Teleoperated vehicles are gaining importance during the transition to fully automated vehicles since at the current state of development automated vehicles are not capable of operating in all conditions and environments. Despite the high potential of the concept of teleoperated vehicles, there are still challenges to be dealt with. As the teledriver is physically not present in the vehicle during teleoperation, the communication between the teledriver and the vehicle takes place via internet. That could lead to a delayed transmission of the telemetry and visual signals. Additionally, the teledriver’s perception of the vehicle motion is reduced. This study demonstrates the differences between teledriving and normal driving from a theoretical perspective and how the stability of the vehicle-teledriver system is affected by the communication delay and the reduced perception of the vehicle motion. To increase the driver’s perception and the ease of control of the teleoperated vehicle, a simple structured and tunable steering wheel torque emulation concept is introduced.