Performance evaluation of a magnetorheological haptic cue accelerator on the basis of an automotive engine transmission model

Abstract

This paper presents a haptic cue accelerator for manual-transmission vehicles and its performance evaluation for a virtual environment of the vehicle on the basis of the automotive engine transmission model. By incorporating the haptic cue function into the accelerator pedal, the proposed system can transmit optimal gear-shifting timing to the driver without requiring the driver's visual attention. As a first step to implement this function on the accelerator pedal, a haptic cue device is devised that is capable of rotary motion of the accelerator pedal by utilizing a brake mechanism based on a magnetorheological (MR) fluid. The proposed haptic cue device is then manufactured and its field-dependent torque responses are experimentally evaluated. The manufactured MR haptic cue device is integrated with the accelerator pedal to construct the proposed haptic cue accelerator. A virtual vehicle emulating a four-cylinder four-stroke engine and manual transmission system of a passenger vehicle is constructed and it communicates with the manufactured haptic cue accelerator. A feedforward torque control algorithm for the haptic cue is formulated, and control performances are experimentally evaluated and presented in the time domain. Furthermore, the fuel consumption of the vehicle adopting the MR haptic cue accelerator is evaluated on the basis of the engine transmission model.