PURPOSEFUL BRAKE-INDUCED WHEEL LOCKUP FOR VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

Systems and Methods for controlling an autonomous vehicle, may include: receiving sensor data, the sensor data comprising vehicle parameter information for the autonomous vehicle; using the sensor data to determine a vehicle state for the autonomous vehicle, wherein the vehicle state comprises information regarding a magnitude of an actual or predicted effective understeer gradient for the vehicle; computing a yaw moment required to correct the effective understeer gradient based on the magnitude of the effective understeer gradient; and determining a combination of one or more vehicle control inputs, including applying a brake torque, to correct the effective understeer gradient; applying the brake torque to a single wheel of the vehicle, wherein an amount of brake torque applied is sufficient to lock up the single wheel to create a yaw moment on the vehicle to achieve the computed yaw moment required to correct the effective understeer gradient.