Smart product design for automotive systems

A Galip Ulsoy

doi:10.1007/s11465-019-0527-0

Abstract

Automobiles evolved from primarily mechanical to electro-mechanical, or mechatronic, vehicles. For example, carburetors have been replaced by fuel injection and air-fuel ratio control, leading to order of magnitude improvements in fuel economy and emissions. Mechatronic systems are pervasive in modern automobiles and represent a synergistic integration of mechanics, electronics and computer science. They are smart systems, whose design is more challenging than the separate design of their mechanical, electronic and computer/control components. In this review paper, two recent methods for the design of mechatronic components are summarized and their applications to problems in automotive control are highlighted. First, the combined design, or co-design, of a smart artifact and its controller is considered. It is shown that the combined design of an artifact and its controller can lead to improved performance compared to sequential design. The coupling between the artifact and controller design problems is quantified, and methods for co-design are presented. The control proxy function method, which provides ease of design as in the sequential approach and approximates the performance of the co-design approach, is highlighted with application to the design of a passive/active automotive suspension. Second, the design for component swapping modularity (CSM) of a distributed controller for a smart product is discussed. CSM is realized by employing distributed controllers residing in networked smart components, with bidirectional communication over the network. Approaches to CSM design are presented, as well as applications of the method to a variable-cam-timing engine, and to enable battery swapping in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

Highlights

One of the things that most clearly distinguishes humans from other species in the animal kingdom is that humans make and use tools
It is shown that the combined design of an artifact and its controller can lead to improved performance compared to sequential design
Applications of the method to a variable-cam-timing engine, and to enable battery swapping in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, are highlighted

Summary

Introduction

One of the things that most clearly distinguishes humans from other species in the animal kingdom is that humans make and use tools. Smart product design for automotive systems systems we take for granted in our daily lives are products of only the past century and many more engineering innovations (e.g., fusion-based energy, low-cost solar energy, virtual reality, secure cyberspace, autonomous cars) are expected in the coming century [3,4]. Examples include electric or hybrid powertrains, electronic engine and transmission controls, cruise and headway control, anti-lock brakes, differential braking, vehicle stability systems, and active/semi-active suspensions Many of these functions can be, and have been, achieved using purely mechanical devices. Exchange of information makes it possible to integrate sub-systems and obtain superior performance and functionality, which are not possible with un-coordinated systems These are smart systems whose engineering design is more challenging than the separate and sequential design of their mechanical, electronic and computer/control components. Applications of the method to a variable-cam-timing engine, and to enable battery swapping in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, are highlighted

Coupling between artifact and controller design problems

Control proxy function

Findings

Controller design for component swapping modularity