Considerations for minimum lap time calculation on a race track

摘要

While methods for vehicle modeling are well established for simulation of handling behavior, there is still a lack of driver models, which are important for the realization of closed-loop maneuvers in a virtual environment. This paper will present preliminary considerations for the development of such a driver model. First, trajectory planning strategies have to be generated and evaluated. To achieve this, a method will be deduced, which calculates the maximum velocity at each point of an arbitrary trajectory, taking into account simplified vehicle characteristics in terms of maximum longitudinal and lateral accelerations and considering the frictional ellipse. Thus, the minimum necessary time for each trajectory can be calculated, this being a possible parameter to rate the quality of a trajectory for given course. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated with the Nuerburgring race track.