All round car designer

Chapter 666 Driverless Tour (5)

"When did you develop the steering-by-wire system, and what is the current progress?" Zhou Fei looked at Ramsey and asked.

Steering by wire is a new technology after all, Zhou Fei must make a full evaluation before it is officially promoted and applied.

"It has been more than a year since this plan was proposed. As for the progress, Mr. Zhou has seen it just now. It is no problem to put it into use in large quantities." Ramsey laughed.

"It's been going on for more than a year?" Zhou Fei looked at Ramsey in surprise, "I didn't know until now!"

"When we first proposed this idea, we didn't have much confidence. We just thought we could take this as a direction to try, so we didn't mention it to Mr. Zhou. After progress was made, Mr. Zhou was busy with other things. The matter has been delayed until now to report to Mr. Zhou, and I hope Mr. Zhou will not be offended." Ramsey replied hastily.

It stands to reason that such a relatively large project needs Zhou Fei's nod to advance.

"It's nothing, I'm not blaming you, you've done a good job." Zhou Fei smiled and waved his hand.

Now that he has decided to delegate power, he should let it go completely. Zhou Fei doesn't mind that there will be more "accidents" like this.

"Excluding this time, how many times have the wire control turned to you for testing?" Zhou Fei continued to ask.

If a new technology is to be applied to cars, it must go through several stability tests, especially when this technology is applied to driverless vehicles. Zhou Fei does not want the SBW problem to affect the entire company's business. layout.

"Including static and dynamic tests, we have conducted nearly a hundred tests before and after. The finished product shown this time has reached the level of commercial use. Please rest assured Mr. Zhou."

Ramsey naturally knew what Zhou Fei was worried about. If he was not fully sure, he would not boast in front of Zhou Fei.

Zhou Fei nodded, and then asked again, "Can steering by wire be used on ordinary vehicles?"

If this technology can be fully promoted in the automobile industry, it will inevitably usher in another change in automobile steering technology, but Zhou Fei also knows that SBW can be applied to driverless driving, but it may not be applicable to all models. promote.

Sure enough, Ramsey's answer also confirmed Zhou Fei's thoughts.

"We have also tested this by the way. If we want to promote it on ordinary cars, there are still many problems to be solved urgently. On the one hand, it is the compatibility of software and hardware, and on the other hand, it is the problem of steering road feel."

Steering by wire cancels the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the steering gear, and only relies on the steering motor and various sensors to complete the steering operation. Since the software and hardware of electric vehicles are built on the electronic control system, it is not difficult to carry an SBW system , it can be said that electric vehicles are naturally suitable for steer-by-wire.

As for the road feeling problem, it is a more realistic existence. With the traditional steering system, due to the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the steering wheel, the driver can feel what the real road conditions are like through the steering wheel. Whether the road, asphalt road, is smooth or bumpy, can be known through the steering wheel.

But after canceling the mechanical connection, the driver can only perceive the road conditions through the road sense simulation motor. When the driver holds the steering wheel, the bottom is completely hollow, giving people a feeling that the vehicle cannot be controlled, which will make the driver feel The sense of crisis greatly affects the driving experience.

More importantly, if the road sense transmission is wrong, it will cause the driver to receive wrong information, which will lead to wrong steering, premature steering or untimely steering, which will endanger the life safety of the driver and passengers. Bring great hidden danger, but also can reduce the driving pleasure of automobile as a means of transportation.

It is for these reasons that steer-by-wire has not been widely used in automobiles for a long time.

"I understand what you mean. For the time being, focus on unmanned driving. As for the promotion of steering-by-wire technology, we will study it later." Zhou Fei didn't struggle with this issue. Human driving is the general direction of the Group's development.

As long as unmanned driving can be established and promoted, Zhou Fei still has a lot of time to overcome the problem of steering by wire.

According to the established process, the four vehicles completed all the laps one after another, and there was no problem in the whole process. Whether it was turning, obstacle avoidance, or acceleration, they were all the same as normal vehicles.

"We're going to have a real-life test next, do you want to experience it?" Ramsay asked with a smile on the side.

Zhou Fei's eyes were bright, "I can't wait!"

Zhou Fei even dared to try semi-autonomous driving with immature technology, let alone the mature technology now?

Think of it as getting acquainted with the process ahead of time for the public tour.

However, out of safety considerations, Zhou Fei still took safety measures at the request of Ramsey and others. Helmets and protective clothing are all available. Those who didn't know thought they would participate in the F1 competition.

Soon, Zhou Fei got into the car. Although he had ridden in this car countless times, this time was undoubtedly the one Zhou Fei was most looking forward to and excited about.

Since it is automatic driving, there is no such thing as a main driver or a co-pilot in the car. After removing the steering wheel and other devices, the seating space in the car has also been liberated, and a total of six people can be seated in the front and rear rows.

Although the steering wheel and shift lever have been removed, the vehicle still retains the brake device in the front row to prevent the vehicle's automatic brake device from getting out of control, and manual emergency braking can also be used to provide safety for the passengers in the car.

"I'm wondering if we can keep these devices of traditional cars, but add an additional automatic driving system. The owner can choose whether to use the unmanned driving mode or the traditional driving mode, and leave the choice to consumers. What do you think?" Zhou Fei looked at Asked Ramsay on the side.

There will always be people who want to experience the fun of driving. Zhou Fei always feels that the right to choose should be in the hands of customers, not in the hands of merchants.

"I think two models can be launched, one is designed like the current one, which completely adopts the design standard of unmanned driving, and the other is the plan just proposed by Mr. Zhou, which can be used as a transitional means. Our Isn’t the goal to achieve comprehensive unmanned driving? Subsequent traditional cars can be realized through modification, and unmanned driving should be the mainstream.” Ramsey replied.

Zhou Fei nodded. Ramsey's analysis is very reasonable. Since it took so much investment to realize the commercialization of unmanned driving, it should indeed make unmanned driving the mainstream, and eventually let unmanned driving completely replace traditional cars. , Let drivers and driving schools all become history!
"Please fasten your seat belt, the vehicle will move immediately."

At this time, a crisp reminder came from inside the car, and Zhou Fei, Ramsay and others immediately followed the instructions and fastened their seat belts. The real unmanned driving experience is about to begin!

(End of this chapter)