With advancements in the automotive driving and safety technology the new age is looking to redefine transportation as we know it. The thrust area of study at the Center for Robotics Research at University of Cincinnati is building technology for autonomous vehicles and it has made considerable advancements over the years to building the future car.
In summer 2006, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced the third Grand Challenge which would feature ground vehicles executing “simulating military supply missions safely and effectively in a mock urban area”. The center entered the competition with a team of students and researchers to achieve this goal with generous contributions from Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), Applied Research Associates Inc (ARA) and the University of Cincinnati amongst others.
An all terrain hybrid electric vehicle built by Cal Motors as an economical non tactical base transport vehicle was used as the competition entry, which was donated as per a Co-operative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). This thesis presents the drive by wire solution along with the custom changes which were made on the vehicle in order to put the till now theories into practice.
The design solution introduced control of linear actuators by more responsive and energy efficient servo motors which were driven by a Galil™ motion controller. Each axis of the controller was responsible for the control of electronic braking, steering and speed control systems respectively. The process involved some metal fabrication to incorporate the positioning of components for improved space usage and definite mounting, after which the systems were calibrated for optimum functioning. A series-hybrid approach was introduced for the ATV to provide longer hours of operation. Before the vehicle was allowed to ply on city streets it was brought to Ohio state law standards and in addition underwent a thousand mile durability test.
The result of the research and development was a robust and effective system which could control by wire the all terrain vehicle (ATV) and met all primary goals of the project.