Development of a control strategy for improving vehicle safety in a hybrid vehicle with four independently driven in-wheel motors

In recent years the interest towards hybrid electric vehicles has increased. In this paper a hybrid electric vehicle with four in-wheel motors is proposed. This layout in fact allows the maximum flexibility in terms of drive torque regulation. In order to exploit this potentiality, a control strategy has been implemented aimed at improving vehicle safety. The hybridization of a city car is in fact considered, thus the improvement of vehicle performance is not the primary goal. Results of the implemented control strategy are compared with the ones of an ESP control system.