Software and hardware configuration for steer by wire using rack-pinion system with ECU integration

Concerns over environmental issue and increasing fuel prices have triggered rapid development in vehicle electrification. Supported with the advancement in electronics technology, developments of electronics steering system provide potential solution toward this direction. The steer by wire (SBW) system in vehicle replaces the conventional steering which utilises mechanical linkage between steering wheel and front wheel with electronics system. The objective of this paper is to develop a steer by wire mechanism using rack-pinion system with ECU integration. The hardware is built with additional DC motor and angular feedback sensors attached to the existing rack-pinion system in a vehicle steering mechanisms. The SBW control algorithm is embedded within an electronic control unit (ECU) to regulate DC motor torque in rotating the wheel to meet a desired steering angle. The results show that the hardware equipped with a suitable electric driver circuit and DC motor controller was successful in controlling the vehicle manoeuvrability. From reliability analysis, it can be reported that the responses of the SBW system show acceptable pure delay, mechatronics delay and response time.