A haptically enabled CAN-based steering wheel controller

As the portable entertainment and mobility technologies migrate into the car, driver distraction has become recognized as a major factor in road crashes around the world. To help alert drivers to their distraction, active safety technologies such as lane departure warning systems and collision avoidance systems are being implemented. One issue with the implementation of yet another technology into the vehicle is how to cut through the competing demands of the mobile phone, navigation systems and other technologies. Haptic alerts present just such a method that may enable the system to short-circuit the normal auditory or visual communication channels. This paper presents a low cost haptic steering wheel controller that has been designed developed and tested and may be used as a communication device by a lane departure, collision avoidance, or other type of safety system.

Driver verification based on handgrip recognition on steering wheel

This paper presents a novel driver verification algorithm based on the recognition of handgrip patterns on steering wheel. A pressure sensitive mat mounted on a steering wheel is employed to collect a series of pressure images exerted by the hands of the drivers who intend to start the vehicle. Then, feature extraction from those images is carried out through two major steps: Quad-Tree-based multi-resolution decomposition on the images and Principle Component Analysis (PCA)-based dimension reduction, followed by implementing a likelihood-ratio classifier to distinguish drivers into known or unknown ones. The experimental results obtained in this study show that the mean acceptance rates of 78.15% and 78.22% for the trained subjects and the mean rejection rates of 93.92% and 90.93% to the un-trained ones are achieved in two trials, respectively. It can be concluded that the driver verification approach based on the handgrip recognition on steering wheel is promising and will be further explored in the near future.

"Tomorrow's car" : Deakin Universities new cross vehicle that combines the best of 2 worlds

Motorbike riders are 34-times more likely to die in a crash compared to car drivers per km travelled (1). Such safety risks together with special skill requirements for the driver and much lower comfort compared to normal cars are the main reasons why motorbikes represent only a fraction of all vehicle sales in developed countries. Deakin University is developing a revolutionary cross-over fun vehicle with ultra low fuel consumption and emissions. This new vehicle generation combines the best of two worlds: the fun to drive, low cost, and small size of a scooter together with the safety, comfort and easiness to operate of a car. The result is a vehicle that is more fuel efficient than most cars or even scooters.

Various tilting cross over vehicles have been presented over the last decade that were trying to automate the tilting control of narrow vehicles to make them safer. Examples of these concepts are the Carver, Clever and in some way also the MP3 scooter from Piaggio. The problem with fully enclosed concepts like the Carver or Clever is that they require very complex and therefore also expensive tilting control systems so that the vehicles are not price competitive compared to low cost micro cars or even normal small cars. The MP3 on the other hand comes with a tilting control system which is only semi automatic so that typical car advantages - comprehensive safety features like crush zones, roll over protection, air bags, safety belts or comfort features like full weather protection including heating and cooling – can not be provided.

Deakin’s approach is quite different to the above mentioned concepts. The requirements were derived based on two different investigations: The first step was a critical evaluation of social trends and the second step was an in-depth benchmarking study of existing concepts which identified the typical strengths and weaknesses of these concepts. In a critical next step a new concept was created that addresses most of the weaknesses of existing tilting three-wheelers in a holistic approach by setting clear priority rankings for the vehicle targets, based on current trends. The priorities were set in the following order: Safety, Affordability, Fun and Efficiency (SAFE).

The key feature that enables an enclosed tilting vehicle is a fully automatic tilting control system. With an automatic tilting control system the driver does not need to put the feet on the ground to balance the vehicle when he stops, so the vehicle can be built with a full enclosure. This allows the implementation of typical car like safety features (seat belts, roll over structure, crush zones, air bags). The SafeRide™ tilting control system is a passive system that involves the driver’s balancing sense in its feedback control system. The vehicle has typical scooter like steering characteristics, where the steering is initiated through countersteering. Another safety critical design feature is the crush zone between the two front wheels which is not possible with only one front wheel or with the powertrain positioned between the front wheels, as the powertrain can’t absorb a lot of energy due to its structural stiffness and density. The passive tilting control system is quite simple and therefore makes the vehicle very affordable, an important factor for successful commercialisation.

Another advantage of integrating the human balancing senses in the feedback control of the tilting system is that the system kicks in slightly after the human balancing reacts. In some instances that can generate the typical adrenalin thrill known from riding a bike. This fun factor is quite common with many trend sports like mountain biking, surfing, roller-skating, snowboarding, or skateboarding. Some of these sports have seen very rapid growth only a short time after they have been invented. Utilising the human balancing system during driving also makes the vehicle safer as the adrenalin is produced after reaching a semi-stable driving condition that is controlled by the vehicles tilting control system, but before the vehicle reaches an unstable driving condition that can not be controlled by the vehicle but only (eventually) by the driver – if he has got the required driving skill and if he is alert enough.

Efficiency superior to most cars and scooters is achieved by the aerodynamics of a fully enclosed body structure in combination with the small frontal area of a typical scooter and the droplet shape enabled by the relatively wide front with 2 wheels and the very narrow tail with only one rear wheel. The passive tilting system also contributes to the extreme efficiency as the system only draws some small electrical power for the electronic control unit. Another feature is a low cost exhaust energy recovery system which is discussed in another paper.

Robust fault-tolerant leader-follower control of four-wheel-steering mobile robots using terminal sliding mode

This paper addresses the actuator failure compensation problem of non-linear fourwheel-steering mobile robots based on vehicle kinematics, undergoing both known and unknown failures causing degenerated steering performance or wheels stuck at some observable angles. Terminal sliding mode control technique is used to guarantee the tracking stability infinite time with the presence of actuator fault. Simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. © Institution of Engineers Australia 2012.

Characterising vehicle emissions from the burning of biodiesel made from vegetable oil

Biodiesel manufactured from canola oil was blended with diesel and used as fuel in two diesel vehicles. This study aimed to test the emissions of diesel engines using blends of 100%, 80%, 60%, 40% , 20% biodiesel and 100% petroleum diesel, and characterise the particulate matter and gaseous emissions, with particular attention to levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are harmful to humans. A real time dust monitor was also used to monitor the continuous dust emissions during the entire testing cycle. The ECE(Euro 2) drive cycle was used for all emission tests. It was found that the particle concentration was up to 33% less when the engine burnt 100% biodiesel, compared to 100% diesel. Particle emission reduced with increased percentages of biodiesel in the fuel blends. Reductions of NOx, HC and CO were limited to about 10% when biodiesel was burned. Levels of CO2 emissions from the use of biodiesel and diesel were similar. Eighteen EPA priority PAHs were targeted, with only 6 species detected in the gaseous phase from the samples . 9 PAHs were detected in particulate phases at much lower levels than gaseous PAHs. Some marked reductions were observed for less toxic gaseous PAHs such as naphthalene when burning 100% biodiesel, but the particulate PAH emissions, which have more implications to adverse health effects, were virtually unchanged and did not show a statistically significant reduction. These findings are useful to gain an understanding of the emissions and environmental impacts of biodiesel.

Environmental education - appropriate vehicle for teaching science?

This article we have addresses the issue of an integrated science education curriculum. Following Beane (1995), we suggest an approach that begins with an issue, topic or problem that has an independent existence in real life, and which can serve as a supra.disciplinary organizing principle in providing a framework ror developing a curriculum that presents science content in a contextual fashion alongside other disciplinary content, as dictated by the demands of doing justice to an investigation of the issue, topic or problem. The article illuminates the approach with reference to a case study of a whole-year environmental program. It engages some of the issues raised in recent literature on integrated science curricula, concluding that environmental education might well serve as a useful vehicle for an integrated science education.

Research on seismic signals for vehicle targets and recognition by data fusion

This paper researches seismic signals of typical vehicle targets in order to extract features and to recognize vehicle targets. As a data fusion method, the technique of artificial neural networks combined with genetic algorithm(ANNCGA) is applied for recognition of seismic signals that belong to different kinds of vehicle targets. The technique of ANNCGA and its architecture have been presented. The algorithm had been used for classification and recognition of seismic signals of vehicle targets in the outdoor environment. Through experiments, it can be proven that seismic properties of target acquired are correct, ANNCGA data fusion method is effective to solve the problem of target recognition.

Students' conflicting attitudes towards games as a vehicle for learning mathematics : a methodological dilemma

Mathematics games are widely employed in school classrooms for such reasons as a reward for early finishers or to enhance students' attitude towards mathematics. During a four week period, a total of 222 Grade 5 and 6 (9 to 12 years old) children from Melbourne, Australia, were taught multiplication and division of decimal numbers using calculator games or rich mathematical activities. Likert scale surveys of the children's attitudes towards games as a vehicle for learning mathematics revealed unexpectedly high proportions of negative attitudes at the conclusion of the research. In contrast, student interview data revealed positive associations between games and mathematical learning. This article reports on the methodological dilemma of resultant conflicting attitudinal data related to game- playing. Concerns arising from the divergence in the results are raised in this article. Implications based on the experience of this study may inform educational researchers about future methodological choices involving attitudinal research.

A video-based real-time vehicle detection method by classified background learning

A new two-level real-time vehicle detection method is proposed in order to meet the robustness and efficiency requirements of real world applications. At the high level, pixels of the background image are classified into three categories according to the characteristics of Red, Green, Blue (RGB) curves. The robustness of the classification is further enhanced by using
line detection and pattern connectivity. At the lower level, an exponential forgetting algorithm with adaptive parameters for different categories is utilised to calculate the background and reduce the distortion by the small motion of video cameras. Scene tests show that the proposed method is more robust and faster than previous methods, which is very suitable for real-time vehicle detection in outdoor environments, especially concerning locations where the level of illumination changes frequently and speed detection is important.

A flow control methodology for the rapid generation of vehicle traffic models

This paper presents a conveyor-based methodology to model complex vehicle flows common to factory and distribution warehouse facilities. The AGV and human path modelling techniques available in many commercial discrete event simulation packages require extensive knowledge and time to implement even the simplest flow control rules for multiple vehicle interaction. Although discrete event simulation is accepted as an effective tool to model vehicle delivery movements, human paths and delivery schedules for modern assembly lines, the time to generate accurate models is a significant limitation of existing simulation-based optimisation methodologies. The flow control method has been successfully implemented using two commercial simulation packages. It provides a realistic visual representation, as well as accurate statistical results, and reduces the model development process cost.

Risky driving habits and motor vehicle driver injury

Risky driving is an important cause of motor vehicle injury, but there is a lack of good epidemiological data in this field, particularly data comparing risky driving in younger drivers to those of other age groups. We examined the relationship between risky driving habits, prior traffic convictions and motor vehicle injury using cross-sectional data amongst 21,893 individuals in New Zealand, including 8029 who were aged 16–24 years. Those who reported frequently racing a motor vehicle for excitement or driving at 20 km/h or more over the speed limit, and those who had received traffic convictions over the past 12 months, were between two and four times more likely to have been injured while driving over the same time period. Driving unlicensed was a risk factor for older but not younger drivers, and driving at 20 km/h or more above the speed limits was a stronger risk factor for younger (<25 years) than older drivers. These results confirm the need for interventions targeting risky driving and suggest that different strategies may be required for different high-risk groups.

A novel method of tube manufacture for vehicle crashworthiness utilising the QUICKSTEP™ Process.

A novel method of composite tube manufacture was developed for potential use in automotive crash structures. Tubes were crushed axially under quasi-static conditions and highly repeatable behaviour was observed with an average specific energy absorption of -85kJ/kg. DMTA results indicated that the tubes were fully cured, even when the cycle was reduced to 7 minutes, giving this process huge potential for high-volume production.