This tutorial notebook is a model for automotive longitudinal physics and dynamics.
Includes test scenarios for various 2-dimensional terrain and throttle profiles. The reduction to 2D makes it easier to concentrate on the longitudinal dynamics without being side-tracked by the kinematics of lateral motion.
The object oriented vehicle model expresses dynamics as an equation of forward, reverse and opposing forces that would be typical for a vehicle in motion. Characteristic parameters of the automobile model are set. A basic terrain geometry and motion profile is defined. Euler time-step integration yields acceleration, velocity and longitudinal position over time. Graphics show different aspects of the motion plan when run is completed.
The parameters and 2D terrain geometry can be changed to experiment and learn about the dynamic behavior of the model.