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arXiv · 2607.24863

Steeringless Drifting: Differential-Torque Control of a Four-Wheel Independently Driven Vehicle

Sheng Zhao·Zexin Wu·Dongyang Zhou·Bolin Zhao·Xiaodong Wu
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Abstract

Control methods for emerging vehicle chassis architectures are important for autonomous driving near handling limits. Unlike conventional drift control, which relies on mechanical steering and rear-tire saturation, a steering-free four-wheel independently driven (4WID) vehicle can generate direct yaw moment through differential wheel torques. This paper proposes a differential-torque drift control method for such a vehicle. A double-track vehicle model incorporating four-wheel differential actuation is established, based on which a drift-equilibrium calculation method and a closed-loop drift controller are developed. The proposed approach is validated through simulations and experiments on a 1:10-scale vehicle. The results show that the vehicle can achieve steady circular drifting with a sideslip angle of approximately 20$^\circ$ and perform figure-eight drift tracking. This study demonstrates the feasibility of drift control using only differential wheel torques and provides a new perspective on near-limit control for steering-free vehicle architectures.

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Sheng Zhao, Zexin Wu, Dongyang Zhou, Bolin Zhao, Xiaodong Wu. 2026-07-26. Steeringless Drifting: Differential-Torque Control of a Four-Wheel Independently Driven Vehicle. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24863

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