Dynamics of Actively Steered Automated People Mover Vehicle

Conventional Automated People Mover (APM) vehicles which run with the rubber tires have mechanical guidance systems, which directly sense the lateral position respect to an exclusive guideway. The mechanical guidance system requires guide rails on exclusive guideways and guide wheels on vehicles to control the moving direction of the vehicle. We have discussed the dynamics of APM vehicle and proposed ride quality improvement by using active secondary suspension. However, the drawback of the system is energy consumption. It is more feasible to control running tires than secondary suspension. This paper describes the design of active steering systems for APM vehicles without contacting the guide rail. The steering controller is divided into two parts. One is the feedforward controller, which is determined by guideway configuration, and feedback controller. LQR (Linear Quadratic Regulator) theory is used to design the optimal feedback controller. Performance of the actively steered APM is shown by simulation and field test.