Online Slip Detection and Friction Coefficient Estimation for Autonomous Racing

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Oeltjen, Christopher, Sobolewski, Carson, Faghfoorian, Saleh, Domokos, Lorant, Vidal, Giancarlo, Yerramsetty, Sriram, Ruchkin, Ivan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Oeltjen, Christopher
Sobolewski, Carson
Faghfoorian, Saleh
Domokos, Lorant
Vidal, Giancarlo
Yerramsetty, Sriram
Ruchkin, Ivan
author_facet Oeltjen, Christopher
Sobolewski, Carson
Faghfoorian, Saleh
Domokos, Lorant
Vidal, Giancarlo
Yerramsetty, Sriram
Ruchkin, Ivan
contents Accurate knowledge of the tire-road friction coefficient (TRFC) is essential for vehicle safety, stability, and performance, especially in autonomous racing, where vehicles often operate at the friction limit. However, TRFC cannot be directly measured with standard sensors, and existing estimation methods either depend on vehicle or tire models with uncertain parameters or require large training datasets. In this paper, we present a lightweight approach for online slip detection and TRFC estimation. Our approach relies solely on IMU and LiDAR measurements and the control actions, without special dynamical or tire models, parameter identification, or training data. Slip events are detected in real time by comparing commanded and measured motions, and the TRFC is then estimated directly from observed accelerations under no-slip conditions. Experiments with a 1:10-scale autonomous racing car across different friction levels demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves accurate and consistent slip detections and friction coefficients, with results closely matching ground-truth measurements. These findings highlight the potential of our simple, deployable, and computationally efficient approach for real-time slip monitoring and friction coefficient estimation in autonomous driving.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_15423
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Online Slip Detection and Friction Coefficient Estimation for Autonomous Racing
Oeltjen, Christopher
Sobolewski, Carson
Faghfoorian, Saleh
Domokos, Lorant
Vidal, Giancarlo
Yerramsetty, Sriram
Ruchkin, Ivan
Robotics
Systems and Control
Accurate knowledge of the tire-road friction coefficient (TRFC) is essential for vehicle safety, stability, and performance, especially in autonomous racing, where vehicles often operate at the friction limit. However, TRFC cannot be directly measured with standard sensors, and existing estimation methods either depend on vehicle or tire models with uncertain parameters or require large training datasets. In this paper, we present a lightweight approach for online slip detection and TRFC estimation. Our approach relies solely on IMU and LiDAR measurements and the control actions, without special dynamical or tire models, parameter identification, or training data. Slip events are detected in real time by comparing commanded and measured motions, and the TRFC is then estimated directly from observed accelerations under no-slip conditions. Experiments with a 1:10-scale autonomous racing car across different friction levels demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves accurate and consistent slip detections and friction coefficients, with results closely matching ground-truth measurements. These findings highlight the potential of our simple, deployable, and computationally efficient approach for real-time slip monitoring and friction coefficient estimation in autonomous driving.
title Online Slip Detection and Friction Coefficient Estimation for Autonomous Racing
topic Robotics
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.15423