Abstract
In the context of automated driving, Electric Power Steering (EPS) systems represent an enabling technology. They introduce the ergonomic function of reducing the physical effort required by the driver during the steering maneuver. Furthermore, EPS gives the possibility of high precision control of the steering system, thus paving the way to autonomous driving capability. In this context, the present work presents a performance assessment of an EPS system designed for a full-electric all-wheel-drive electric prototype racing in Formula Student Driverless (FSD) competitions. Specifically, the system is based on the linear actuation of the steering rack by using a ball screw. The screw nut is rotated through a belt transmission driven by a brushless DC motor. Modeling and motion control techniques for this system are presented. Moreover, the numerical model is tuned through a grey-box identification approach. Finally, the performance of the proposed EPS system is tested experimentally on the vehicle through both sine-sweep profiles and co-simulated driverless sessions. The system performance is assessed in terms of reference tracking capability, thus showing favorable results for the proposed actuation solution.
Highlights
The main contributions provided by the present work are: (i) the performance assessment of the proposed Electric Power Steering (EPS) actuator through a dedicated on-vehicle experimental campaign aimed at identifying the dynamic capabilities of the system for a driverless application; (ii) the validation of the discussed actuator in a driverless maneuver generated by the complete vehicle model predictive control (MPC) controller
This paper presents a custom EPS system for a driverless racing vehicle participating at Formula Student Driverless (FSD) events
An FSD racing vehicle was considered and the proposed EPS was studied for system identification and performance assessment during system for a driverless vehicle
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The extension of EPS systems to driverless applications is not straightforward and has not been addressed properly by the available literature In this context, the main contributions provided by the present work are: (i) the performance assessment of the proposed EPS actuator through a dedicated on-vehicle experimental campaign aimed at identifying the dynamic capabilities of the system for a driverless application; (ii) the validation of the discussed actuator in a driverless maneuver generated by the complete vehicle MPC controller. Actuators 2021, 10, 165 only on the tracking performance of the proposed controller, without identifying and discussing the dynamic capabilities of the actuator for the considered application In this perspective, this paper presents a custom EPS system for a driverless racing vehicle participating at Formula Student Driverless (FSD) events.
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