Intuitive motion control leader Nexteer Automotive and Tactile Mobility have announced a software solution to improve overall vehicle health management, safety, and performance.
According to a communication from the company, the solution will work by detecting changing road surfaces (wet, dry, icy, etc.) and evolving tyre conditions (tyre stiffness, tread depth, etc.).
As part of the vehicle's steering system, this solution will enhance the connection among driver, vehicle and road through new, advanced road and tyre detection software.
Feel Of The Road
According to Nexteer, road feedback plays an important safety element in giving the driver a sense of hazardous road conditions. The new software can detect road surface conditions and friction under all road conditions and speeds starting from the vehicle's parked position at zero and up to low excitation cruising (such as highway driving without acceleration or braking). It does this by integrating Tactile Mobility's virtual sensors and algorithms into Nexteer's electric power steering (EPS) system and software.
In today's vehicles with traditional EPS systems, a driver feels road feedback through the steering wheel and software explicitly tuned for the 'feel of the road.'
This new software solution leverages traditional steering feel into a new arena, enabling the vehicle itself to 'feel' the road by converting road surface information into data that the vehicle collects, interprets and assigns to road condition scenarios – all in real-time.
Furthermore, steering 'feel' in fully autonomous vehicles takes on a unique perspective, given that the human-to-vehicle interface is removed, so there is no driver to feel the road. Nexteer and Tactile Mobility's advanced road detection software ensures this important safety feedback by giving a 'sense of feel' to the vehicle – increasing levels of safety and redundancy across all levels of autonomous driving.
Tyre Health Management
In addition to road surface detection, the new software and virtual sensors measure tyre parameters and health, connected to overall vehicle health management. For example, the software identifies and monitors tyre tread depth over time and then alerts the driver when it's time for tyre replacement, enhancing safety, performance, and convenience with proactive scheduled maintenance.
Robin Milavec, President, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Strategy Officer, and Executive Board Director, Nexteer Automotive, said, 'Our new road and tyre detection software highlights how we're combining Nexteer's expertise in EPS software, and steering feel tuning with Tactile Mobility's sensing technology and data analytics to improve a vehicle's connection to the road and enable even safer, more reliable driving. We're excited about the opportunities that this new software can provide to improve overall vehicle health management, safety and convenience for drivers in all road conditions.'
Shahar Bin-Nun, CEO, Tactile Mobility, said, 'With tactile insights, drivers will have previously unavailable information on their vehicle and the road conditions, providing them unprecedented insights to make safer driving choices. This partnership further enables us to address the rapidly growing need for efficient and reliable sensors in the automotive industry and to pave the way toward full autonomy.'