How New By-Wire Platform Accelerates Autonomous Transit Vehicle Development?
Introduction
So, before knowing the use of the By-Wire system, let’s know what it is? It utilizes electronic wires instead of mechanical or hydraulic systems thus improving various functions a car. The by-wire system includes throttle control, brake control, steering control, and shift by wire.
There are several types of By-Wire systems:
- Throttle By wire - This sensor monitors the position of the accelerator pedal. When the Movement of the pedal is sensed, the ECU is notified of this. ECU utilizes the preloaded data which then opens the throttle according to how much the accelerator pedal was pressed. The throttle opening and closing are controlled by an electric motor control which is directly in the hand of the ECU.
- Brake By wire - The movement of the pedal is passed on to the ECU which is connected to four DC motors one on each tyre. Depending on the depression of the brake pedal the ECU commands the motors to brake. As these motors are independent of each other they can apply different pressure on each tyre which helps while using other technologies like ABS and TCS.
The ECU uses the data from other sensors like the wheel speed sensor and lateral acceleration sensor to get a perfect idea of how much braking is required. As braking is one of the necessary parts of a car its failure can be quite devastating. Thus, brake by wire systems also uses a backup brake system to ensure the car can always brake.
Autonomous Vehicle
An Autonomous Vehicle is a vehicle that is driven by an automatic driver that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to move the car from one point to another without human intervention. Its working includes-
Autonomous vehicles work by sensing their surrounding environment. The car takes note of the area it is operating in and then chooses the route to take to its destination while it avoids running into any obstacles on the road. For this, cars use GPS mapping and have windscreen cameras installed within the vehicle. This along with sensor lasers is used to get information about the surroundings of the vehicle. The windscreen cameras and radars help to scan the environment for any obstacles.
This could be other vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights, signs, etc. Other equipment used includes gyroscopes (angular velocity sensors), altimeters (measures altitude), tachometers (counters revolution), and odometers (measures distance traveled by vehicle). Lidar sensors are also used for a more accurate interpretation of information regarding its surroundings. The vehicle is also programmed with neural networks to figure out the best step to take during processing.
How By-Wire Platform accelerates Autonomous vehicle development?
Using the perception and positioning sensors along with the by wire system to control the vehicle, autonomy software produces reliable navigation in urban and rural environments.
The system accelerates autonomous programs and shortens the time to market for commercial transit shuttle programs, last-mile delivery, and universities. The autonomy suite is flexible to be tailored across specific environmental needs and operated on set routes.
The ford transmit system includes a drive-by-wire system enabling the electronic control of the system, Positioning and perception sensors like LiDAR and RADAR, and AutonomouStuff’s autonomy software stack producing autonomous navigation.
The autonomy software acts as the system’s brain, using the sensors and by-wire to navigate safely and autonomously, wherever the platform needs to take you.
The electronic throttle system is significantly lighter, reducing weight in modern cars. The system is easier to service and tune and a technician can simply connect a computer with the system and let the computer perform the tuning. Using an electronic control system also allows for much more precise control of the throttle opening compared to a cable that stretches over time. The throttle response can be programmed by the manufacturers.
Conclusion
The use of a by-wire system makes the navigation of the autonomous vehicle better and allows the vehicle to be more flexible and can be altered to suit a specific environment.
Yalmarthy NV Ronnit gupta is the writer of this article. Views expressed, and information provided being solely to the author.
