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In the fall of 2004, the High Speed Autonomous Vehicle Team, a group of 16 students took on the goal of converting a vehicle to drive-by-wire status. The main goal of this project was to convert a Cadillac SRX donated by General Motors, to fully by-wire control. This thesis presents the HSAVT brake-by-wire and the steer-by-wire solution. In addition, the results of a literary search on drive-by-wire systems are presented. The results of the project proved that the team came up with a solid, effective drive-by-wire vehicle and that the project met all of the primary goals of the project. / Master of Science

The ability to drive a car is an important skill for individuals with a spinal cord injury to maintain a high quality of life, particularly their freedom and independence. However, driving with a physical disability often requires the installation of an adaptive driving system to control steering, gas, and braking. The two main types of adaptive driving controls are mechanical and electrical, also known as drive by wire (DBW). DBW controls work by converting electric signals to mechanical actuators. Driving simulators are useful tools for adaptive driving systems because they allow users to test different control devices, to practice driving without the dangers of being on the road, and can be used as a safe way to evaluate disabled drivers. This study focused on the development of a dynamic driving simulator using DBW controls because many studies focus on mechanical controls and not DBW controls and often use static simulators. The simulator was developed using the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) virtual reality system. The CAREN system (Motek Medical, Amsterdam, Netherlands) includes a six degree of freedom (DOF) motion base, an optical motion capture system, a sound system, and a 180-degree projection screen. The two DBW controls, a lever device to control the gas and brake and a small wheel device to control steering, sent an electric signal to a Phidget microcontroller board, which interfaced with the CAREN system. Several different driving scenarios were created and imported into CAREN's D-Flow software. A program was developed in D-Flow to control the scene and motion of the platform appropriately based on the DBW controls via the Phidget. The CAREN system dynamically controlled the motion platform based on the user's input. For example, if the user applied the brake suddenly, the user felt a deceleration from the motion platform moving backwards. Human testing was performed and through the use of a survey, feedback about the system was obtained. Changes were made to the simulator using the feedback obtained and further testing showed that those changes improved the simulator. The driving simulator showed the capability to provide dynamic feedback and, therefore, may be more realistic and beneficial than current static adaptive driving simulators. The dynamic adaptive driving simulator developed may improve driving training and performance of persons with spinal cord injuries. Future work will include more human testing. The dynamic feedback provided through the system's moving platform and virtual camera movement will be optimized in order to perform similarly to a real car. Testing will also be completed with and without the dynamics from the moving platform to see how this type of feedback affects the user's driving ability in the virtual environment.

The aim of the diploma thesis is a proposal of a new steering construction of the special vehicle for disabled. The fundamental requirement for new construction is driving by only one main control. New steering construction was designed to uses drive-by-wire method and the vehicle is controlled by joy-stick. The proposal and necessary calculations were performed using Autodesk Inventor Professional 2015 software.

Virtual simulators have proven to be extremely effective tools for training individuals for tasks that might otherwise be cost-prohibitive, dangerous, or impractical. One advantage of using a virtual simulator is that it provides a safe environment for emergency scenarios. For many years the United States military and NASA have used simulators, including those affixed with drive-by-wire (DBW) controls, effectively and efficiently to train subjects in a variety of ways. A DBW system utilizes electrical circuits to actuate servo motors from a given input signal to achieve a desired output. In DBW systems the output is not directly mechanically connected to a control surface (steering, acceleration, deceleration, etc.); usually, the input controller is linked by electrical wires to a localized servo motor where direct control can be given. This project is aimed at developing a novel simulator for a future training program using DBW systems that caters specifically to individuals who currently use or will be using for the first time vehicle modifications in order to drive and maintain their independence. Many of these individuals use one or a combination of powered steering, acceleration, braking, or secondary DBW controls to drive. The simulator integrates a virtual training environment and advanced electronic vehicle interface technology (AEVIT) DBW controls (4-way joystick, gas-brake lever/small zero-effort steering wheel). In a 30 participant study of three groups (able-bodied individuals, elderly individuals, and individuals with disability), it was found that training with a DBW joystick steering system will require more instruction and simulator practice time than a gas-brake lever/small steering wheel combination (GB/S) to obtain a similar level of competency. Drivers using the joystick completed predetermined driving courses in longer times, at slower speeds, with more errors than the other DBW system. On average, the reaction time to a stopping signal was fastest with the gas-brake lever at 0.54 seconds. Reaction times for the standard vehicle controls and the joystick were 0.741 and 0.677 seconds respectively. It was noted that reaction times using DBW controls were shorter overall. When driving in traffic, drivers committed 4.9, 5.1, and 8.3 driving infractions per minute using standard vehicle controls (No Drive by Wire, (NDBW)), the gas/brake and steering system, and joystick system respectively. Most drivers felt that the GB/S system was easier to learn, easier to operate, safer, and more reliable than the joystick system.

With automobile propulsion energy sources turning away from petroleum, the evolution of technology naturally lends itself to electrical hybrid vehicle architectures relying on alternatives as a primary electrical energy source. This thesis presents a design solution of a direct-drive and drive-by-wire prototype of a hybrid extended range electric vehicle (EREV) based on a dune buggy test bed. The developed setup eliminates nearly all mechanical inefficiencies in the rear wheel drive transaxle drivetrain. All controls have been purposely designed as a duplicate set to allow for full independent control of both rear wheels in a truly independent architecture. Along with the controls supporting the design, the motors have been mounted in a near wheel fashion to adequately replace a true hub motor setup. In addition, by-wire throttle and by-wireless brakes in a servomechanical fashion have been developed. The by-wireless braking system is used to control regenerative braking for the rear of the vehicle only allowing for the front brakes to be the primary means of braking as well as a mechanical safety redundancy. This design allows for developments in the areas of truly independent electronic differential systems and studies of the effect of near wheel motor setup. The efficiencies gained by the design solutions implemented in this thesis project have shown their ability to be used in a functioning motor vehicle. Direct gains in mechanical efficiency as well as the removal of a non eco-friendly gasoline powertrain have been attained. In addition, an electric architecture has been developed for further research in future studies such as vehicle stability control, traction control and all-wheel-drive architectures.