Cheng Hu

Zhiping Wu, Cheng Hu, Yiqin Wang et al.

Operating autonomous vehicles at the absolute limits of handling requires precise, real-time identification of highly non-linear tire dynamics. However, traditional online optimization methods suffer from "cold-start" initialization failures and struggle to model high-frequency transient dynamics. To address these bottlenecks, this paper proposes a novel vision-augmented, iterative system identification framework. First, a lightweight CNN (MobileNetV3) translates visual road textures into a continuous heuristic friction prior, providing a robust "warm-start" for parameter optimization. Next, a S4 model captures complex temporal dynamic residuals, circumventing the memory and latency limitations of traditional MLPs and RNNs. Finally, a derivative-free Nelder-Mead algorithm iteratively extracts physically interpretable Pacejka tire parameters via a hybrid virtual simulation. Co-simulation in CarSim demonstrates that the lightweight vision backbone reduces friction estimation error by 76.1 using 85 fewer FLOPs, accelerating cold-start convergence by 71.4. Furthermore, the S4-augmented framework improves parameter extraction accuracy and decreases lateral force RMSE by over 60 by effectively capturing complex vehicle dynamics, demonstrating superior performance compared to conventional neural architectures.

Mingyi Zhang, Cheng Hu, Yiqin Wang et al.

High-speed multi-agent autonomous racing demands robust spatiotemporal planning and precise control under strict computational limits. Current methods often oversimplify interactions or abandon strict kinematic constraints. We resolve this by proposing a Topological Gap Identification and Accelerated MPC framework. By predicting opponent behaviors via SGPs, our method constructs dynamic occupancy corridors to robustly select optimal overtaking gaps. We ensure strict kinematic feasibility using a Linear Time-Varying MPC powered by a customized Pseudo-Transient Continuation (PTC) solver for high-frequency execution. Experimental results on the F1TENTH platform show that our method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art baselines: it reduces total maneuver time by 51.6% in sequential scenarios, consistently maintains an overtaking success rate exceeding 81% in dense bottlenecks, and lowers average computational latency by 20.3%, pushing the boundaries of safe and high-speed autonomous racing.