This paper describes the field verification of the ADVANCE-F's lateral controller for vehicle steering automation and hands-free lane keeping. The controller steers an equipped vehicle along a specially marked lane without cross-over lane markings. Testing results give preliminary verification that controller performance is stable and has robust capability on meandering roads. The results also reveal that the automatic steering mode can overcome the effects of unbalanced loading, missing alignment, and a distorted positioning of the photosensors that are provided for lateral guidance of the vehicle. A smooth transition process from the manual to the automatic mode is proposed to avoid abnormal and over-shooting situations.
