MECHATRONICS DESIGN OF AN X-BY-WIRE PROTOTYPE OF AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE

The concept of electric vehicle as a fully automated mobile robot – a.k.a. X-by-Wire, or Drive-by-Wire (DbW) concepts – is becoming more and more attractive in the modern automotive industry. This idea is based on replacing a mechanical subsystem by its electronic equivalent, which includes sensors and actuators, with a computer in-between. Three of the components, namely Throttle-by-Wire, Brake-by-Wire, and Steer-by-Wire, are the most complex and risky elements of the X-by-Wire technology. Moreover, these elements constitute the inherent part of the general DbW paradigm. This paper reports work-in-progress on the design and prototyping of a scaled-down 1 : 6 proof-of-concept model of a commercial vehicle with an integrated X-by-Wire system. The control for its components is discussed, while emphasizing the Steer-by-Wire actuator based on the Ackermann condition. The influence of heading velocity and turning angle on the slipping angle and path error of the model is discussed. The performance of the dynam...