Estimating Sideslip Angle Using a Downward-Facing Camera

Vehicle stability controllers significantly rely on the knowledge the vehicle velocity and sideslip angle. However, direct measurement of these parameters is challenging and costly. While various estimation techniques have shown promising outcomes, their reliability across diverse driving scenarios remains inconsistent. This study investigates a novel methodology to directly measure velocity and sideslip angle, using computer vision techniques. A real-time framework is put in place, which is initially tested on a scaled radio-controlled vehicle. Experiments on a full-size vehicle prototype equipped with a Kistler S-Motion sensor (ground truth), along several manoeuvres, confirm the real-time applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach.