Application of Vehicle Lateral Control - Automated Snowblower

摘要

This paper describes the development process and the field test results of an automated snowblower, focusing on one of the more difficult snow removal operations: blowing snow off the freeway along side a guardrail without touching the guardrail. The development process includes transforming this automated operation into a control problem, modeling snowblower, design control algorithms, and instrument a 20-ton snowblower with sensors and an actuator. The initial field tests were successfully conducted with embedded magnetic markers along guardrails installed on the shoulders of Interstate-80 in the Sierra Mountain region close to Donner Summit in California, USA, 2005.