Minimum Time Overtaking Problem of Vehicle Handling Inverse Dynamics Based on Two Kinds of Safe Distances

Abstract Overtaking accidents caused by improper operations performed by a driver occur frequently. However, most studies on overtaking safety have neglected research into driver control input. A novel method is proposed to obtain the driver control input during the overtaking process. Meanwhile, to improve the safety of overtaking, two types of safe distances, and the time of the overtaking are considered. Path constraints are established when considering the two types of safe distances. An optimal control model is established to solve the minimum time maneuver under multiple constraints. Using the Gauss pseudospectral method, the optimal control problem is converted into a nonlinear programming problem, which is then solved through sequential quadratic programming (SQP). In addition, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified based on the results of a Carsim simulation. The simulation results show that by adopting an inverse dynamics method to solve the manipulation problem of the vehicle’s minimum overtaking time, the manipulation capability of a vehicle in completing an overtaking safely within the minimum time can be obtained. This method can provide a reference for research into the active safety of manned and unmanned vehicles.