Control Schemes for Steer-by-Wire Systems

Steer-by-wire (SbW) systems are candidate to replace the conventional steering equipment in the new generation of vehicles. The task of a SbW system is twofold: turning the steered wheels by tracking the handwheel rotation and providing the driver with a feeling of the steering effort. In this paper, the design of the control scheme for SbW systems is faced. Two schemes are considered: one is derived from the model of conventional steering equipment whilst the other one exploits the features of a SbW system to cope with the interaction of the steered wheels to the road surface. Implementation of the control schemes on a test vehicle is described and experimental results are given.