Development of a Pedestrian Collision Warning System Integrated Into Windscreen Pillars

In Russia, 36% [1] of all accidents are a collision with a pedestrian. Vehicle structural elements limit visibility to drivers and do not allow fully assessing the traffic situation, forming blind zones. It especially applies to commercial vehicles with large dimensions. The system allowing to expand visibility of the car due to use of displays in windscreen pillars is presented in this article. It is proposed to use the pedestrian recognition system integrated into the windscreen pillars based on neural networks. The system allows to detect and estimate distance to the objects and to give warning signals about possible collision. It consists of an on-board computer, video cameras and output devices. Interior elements of a commercial vehicle were developed and installed. External side mirrors were replaced with video cameras. The exterior elements were designed and installed. Further there were carried out experimental researches of the system.

Analyzing the Effect of Air Capacitor Turbocharging Single Cylinder Engines on Fuel Economy and Emissions Through Modeling and Experimentation

Turbocharging can provide a cost effective means for increasing the power output and fuel economy of an internal combustion engine. A turbocharger added to an internal combustion engine consists of a coupled turbine and compressor. Currently, turbocharging is common in multi-cylinder engines, but it is not commonly used on single-cylinder engines due to the phase mismatch between the exhaust stroke (when the turbocharger is powered) and the intake stroke (when the engine intakes the compressed air). The proposed method adds an air capacitor, an additional volume in series with the intake manifold, between the turbocharger compressor and the engine intake, to buffer the output from the turbocharger compressor and deliver pressurized air during the intake stroke. This research builds on previous work where it was shown experimentally that a power gain of 29% was achievable and that analytically a power gain of 40–60% was possible using a turbocharger and air capacitor system. The goal of this study is to further analyze the commercial viability of this technology by analyzing the effect of air capacitor turbocharging on emissions, fuel economy, and power density. An experiment was built and conducted that looked at how air capacitor sizing affected emissions, fuel economy, and the equivalence ratio. The experimental data was then used to calibrate a computational model built in Ricardo Wave. Finally this model was used to evaluate strategies to further improve the performance of a single cylinder diesel turbocharged engine with an air capacitor.

Road Adhesion Coefficient Estimation Based on the Steering Wheel Rebound After Steering

Accurately estimating road adhesion coefficient is very important for vehicle stability control system. In this paper, an innovation method to estimate the road adhesion coefficient is proposed. This method can be used in vehicles without additional sensors. And this method is especially suitable to be used in the intelligent vehicle equipped with steer-by-wire (SBW) system. When vehicle steers, releasing the steering wheel suddenly will result in rebound to a certain angle. When the steer wheel turns the same angle on different road whose adhesion coefficients are different, the front wheel rebound angles are different. The friction moment between the road and tire is the main factor to prevent the tire from turning back, and the coefficient of friction is equal to road adhesion coefficient when the vehicle is stationary. In this paper, the detailed dynamical models describing the whole process of the front wheel and tire rebound are established. Furthermore, the Luenberger reduced-order disturbance observer is established to estimate the friction moment, and then the adhesion coefficient is estimated. The SBW system which is usually equipped in intelligent vehicles can control the steer moment and steer angle accurately. When the steer wheel turns to certain angle, the SBW system is able to stop outputting torque quickly and timely, which is important for improving the experiment accuracy. In this paper, the SBW system is used to conduct an experiment on different roads. The experiment results demonstrate the validity of this method.

On-Field Measurements of the Dissipated Vibrational Power of an SUV Car Traditional Viscous Shock Absorber

The current paper provides some on-field measurements regarding the quantification of the dissipated power during the damping process of a traditional viscous shock absorber. In this regard, the HAVAL H8 SUV was driven for several trips on the Nanhu campus arena considering a velocity range of 20–50 km/h. Furthermore, two species of campus road sections were selected during the fabricated tests; straight road section with and without a speed bump. The acceleration signals of the rear-right suspension system (body and wheel) were acquired as the average power dissipation trend could be calculated from the relative suspension velocity. The findings of this investigation indicate that the average dissipated power of a traditional shock absorber can be in a range of 10–90 W for a speed range of 20–50 km/h driving on a campus road section free of speed bumps. Whilst, for another road segment with one speed bump, the shock absorber dissipated a kinetic energy between 40–140 W for a velocity range of 20–50 km/h. Suggesting that an average overall dissipated power of 160–560 W is available by means of the traditional shock absorbers. The results are of strategic interest for the researchers and vehicle manufacturers for further considerations in terms of regenerative suspension systems where a part of this energy could be harvested instead of being wholly dissipated.

Vehicle Stability Control on Tire Burst Steering and Braking Condition With Active Steering System

By analyzing the key safety problems under the front-outside-tire burst steering condition, a vehicle stability control strategy is proposed in this paper, which is based on active front steering and differential braking systems. Taken both the handling stability and safety into account, we divided the whole control strategy into two layers, which are yaw moment control layer and the additional steering angle & tire force distribution layer. To solve the similar linear problem concisely, the LQR control is adopted in the yaw moment control layer. To achieve the goal of providing enough additional lateral force and yaw moment while keeping the burst tire in appropriate condition, the additional steering angle provided by active front steering system and the tire force distribution was adjusted step by step. To test the proposed control strategy performance, we modelling a basic front-outside-tire burst steering condition, in which the tire blows out once the vertical pressure reach the predefined critical value. Through simulation on different adhesion coefficient road, the control strategy proposed in this paper performance quite better compare with the uncontrolled one in aspect of movement, burst tire protection, handling stability.

Multi-Objective Topological Optimization of Support Frame for High-Speed and Heavy-Load Triangle Track Wheel Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process

The high-speed, heavy-load and changeable triangle track wheel is a motion device that can carry out interchange between the track wheel and tire in an ordinary vehicle. The topology optimization for the support frame can reduce weight and improve the maneuverability of the vehicle. However, it is difficult to consider simultaneously its weight, stiffness and modal in the process of the structure optimization. Thus, a topology optimization method for multi-objective and multi-working-condition is proposed based on the AHP (analytic hierarchy process) and average frequency method. Firstly, considering the static multi-stiffness target and dynamic vibration frequency target, using the compromise programming method and average frequency method, the objective function of the multi-objective and multi-working-condition topology optimization is established. Then, based on the optimization target, design criteria and indexes, the lightweight hierarchical structure model of the support frame consisting of three levels and eight weight factors is established. Values of 8 weight coefficients of the multi-objective topology optimization are determined through solving the weight factor judgment matrix. Finally, considering the multi-working-condition, taking the minimum objective function of the static and dynamic characteristics as target, and the volume ratio is 50% as boundary, the mathematical model of the topology optimization is established. Simulation results show that the stiffness and strength of the support frame are improved respectively by 74.3% and 1.3% while its weight is reduced by 16.3%. This method also provides a new way to the lightweight design for other large, heavy and multi-condition equipment.

Hydraulic Pressure Control and Parameter Optimization of Brake-by-Wire System Based on Driver-Automation Cooperative Driving

The automatic driving technology of vehicle is being carried out in real road environment, however, the application of unmanned vehicle still needs proof and practice. Autonomous vehicles will be in the stage of co-drive for a long time, that is, driver-control and autonomous system assisting or autonomous system control and driver assisting. The braking system of the intelligent vehicle needs to work in driver driving mode or automatic driving mode during a long stage. Brake-by-Wire system is the development trend of vehicle braking system. The brake modes of the Brake-by-Wire system can be switched easily and it can satisfy the demand for braking system of the intelligent vehicle. However, when the driving mode changes, the characteristic of the braking intention and braking demand will change. In order to improve the braking performance of the intelligent vehicle, hydraulic pressure control and parameter optimization of the Brake-by-Wire system during different driving modes should be different. Researches are made on hydraulic pressure control and parameter optimization of the Brake-by-Wire system with consideration on differences of braking intensity input and braking requirement between driver driving mode and automatic driving mode through theory analysis, Matlab/Simulink-AMESim simulation and bench test. The study is helpful for improving the braking performance of Brake-by-Wire system in hydraulic pressure control of driver-automation cooperative driving.

Using “Why and How” to Tap Into Novice Designers’ Method Selection Mindset

Despite the growing utilization of human-centered design, both in academia and industry, there is lack of pedagogical materials that support context-based design method selection. When used properly, design methods are linked to successful outcomes in the design process, but with hundreds of design methods to select from, knowing when and how to use a particular method is challenging. Selecting the appropriate design method requires a deep understanding of the project context. Cultivating a selection methodology that is more contextually aware, equips students with the tools to apply the most appropriate methods to their future academic and industry projects. Using theDesignExchange knowledge platform as a teaching material, we discuss a summer design course at the University of California at Berkeley that encourages students to choose design methods rather than the instructors giving a set list. The findings illustrate that when given the task to select a method, students exhibit contextually-aware method selection mindsets.

Evaluation of i-Pod App to Assess Whole-Body Vibration and Seat Transmissibility on Mobile Mining Equipment

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed a pilot study focusing on the measurement accuracy of a mobile iOS application (app) to assess whole-body vibration (WBV) and seat performance on mobile mining equipment. The major objectives of this study were to assess the accuracy of an iPod app and determine if a pair of iPods running the iPod app were suitable to measure SEAT (Seat Effective Amplitude Transmissibility) value. The goal is to recommend a simple method to determine when a vehicle seat may need to be repaired, replaced, or adjusted. The study showed that the iPod app has the potential to serve as a low-cost tool to estimate WBV exposures to operators of mobile mining equipment. The study results were similar to those obtained by Burgess-Limerick et al. for operator WBV exposures on mining equipment. In contrast, an effort to examine seat performance using the mobile app showed greater variation between the app and the precision Siemens/LMS system selected as the “gold standard.” When comparing the Siemens/LMS and iPod pair systems, SEAT values calculated using weighted-root-mean-square acceleration (aw) resulted in a mean percent difference of 8.5±7.9%, whereas those calculated using vibration dose value (VDV) resulted in a mean percent difference of 5.5±4.4%. Additional data collection is necessary to determine what factors may be associated with this variance.

Helping Teams Expand the Breadth of Their Solution Space Through Product Dissection: A Simulation Based Investigation

Product dissection has been highlighted as an effective means of interacting with example products in order to produce creative outcomes. While product dissection is often conducted as a team in engineering design education as a component of larger engineering design projects, the research on the effectiveness of product dissection activities has been primarily limited to individuals. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate the impact of the type(s) of product dissected in a team environment on the breadth of the design space explored and the underlying influence of educational level on these effects. This was accomplished through a computational simulation of 7,000 nominal brainstorming teams generated by a statistical bootstrapping technique that accounted for all possible team configurations. Specifically, each team was composed of four team members based on a design repository of 463 ideas generated by first-year and senior engineering design students after a product dissection activity. The results of the study highlight that simulated senior engineering design teams explored a larger solution space than simulated first-year teams and that dissecting different types of products allowed for the exploration of a larger solution space for all of the teams. The results also showed that dissecting two analogically far and two simple products was most effective in expanding the solution space for simulated senior teams. The findings presented in this study can lead to a better understanding of how to most effectively deploy product dissection modules in engineering design education in order to maximize the solution space explored.