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Electromagnetic suspension systems have increasingly gained widespread attention due to their superiority in improving ride comfort while providing fast response, excellent controllability and high mechanical efficiency, but their applications are limited due to the accuracy of the underlying control actuation tracking. For addressing this problem, this study presents a novel hierarchical control strategy for an electromagnetic active suspension (EMAS) system equipped with an electromagnetic actuator (EMA) structure. The structure of the EMA device and the working principle of the motion conversion model are introduced in detail first, and the motion conversion equation is derived based on the force-torque relationship. Based on this, a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control method is proposed to be applied to a half-vehicle suspension system to improve the vibration isolation performance of the vehicle and ensure the ride comfort.

Researches on pedestrian protection have become a very important theme in automotive industry. Design for vehicle front-bumper system has proven rather essential and been extensively used to improve the vehicle performance of pedestrian protection. However, there are some limitations in the design of vehicle front-bumper system to meet a multiple-pedestrian impact conditions at the same time. In order to improve the vehicle performance of lower extremity and pelvis protection for pedestrian, a new type of front bumper airbag was developed. Firstly, based on European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro-NCAP), the Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor (Flex-PLI) to vehicle and Upper Pedestrian Legform Impactor (U-PLI) to vehicle impact tests are carried out to evaluate the pedestrian protection performance of the initial structure.

Highly autonomous vehicles have drawn the interests of many researchers in recent years. For highly autonomous vehicles, a high-definition (HD) map is crucial since it provides accurate information for autonomous driving. However, due to the possible fast-changing environment, the performance of HD maps will deteriorate over time if timely updates are not ensured. Therefore, this paper studies the updating of lightweight HD maps in closed areas. Firstly, a novel two-layer map model called a lightweight HD map is introduced to support autonomous driving in a flexible and efficient way. Secondly, typical updating of scenarios in closed areas with non-paved roads is abstracted into operations including area border expansion, road addition, and road deletion. Meanwhile, a map updating framework is proposed to address the issue of map updating in closed areas. Finally, an experiment is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed map updating approach.

Panoramic images can provide critical information for Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS), such as parking spaces and surrounding vehicles. However, the vehicle in the bird's-eye view image is severely distorted and incomplete, and the visual information becomes very blurred in some illumination insufficient environments. If the driver cannot see the surrounding environment information, the risk of collision will increase, especially during parking. To better percept the local environment with the help of panoramic images, we use panoramic image segmentation results to construct a virtual surround view monitoring system to provide drivers with clearer perception information. Firstly, a lightweight segmentation network is redesigned based on SegNet, which will improve the accuracy of the segmentation without increasing the model’s inference time. Secondly, we build an augment visualization around view monitor (AV-AVM) system with regards to the segmentation results.

As one of the most challenging driving tasks, parking is a common but particularly troublesome problem in large cities. Recently, an excellent solution-automated valet parking (AVP) has become a hot research topic, which allows the driver to leave the vehicle in a drop-off area, while the vehicle driving into the parking slot by itself. For AVP, the precise localization is an indispensable module. However, the global positioning system (GPS) cannot be used in the underground parking lot and the localization method based on lidar is too expensive. In response to solve this problem, we propose a simultaneous localization and mapping system with the semantic information of parking slots (PS-SLAM), which is based on visual-inertial and around view images. First, the calibration of multi-sensors is conducted to obtain their intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. In this way, the around view image and transformation matrices between sensors can be acquired.

The around view monitor (AVM) system for vehicles usually suffers from the distortion of surrounding objects caused by incomplete rectification and stitching, which seriously affects the driver's judgment of the surrounding environment during the reversing process. In response to solve this problem, an augmented around view monitor (AAVM) system fusing image and depth information is proposed, which highlights the point clouds of persons or vehicles at the rear of the vehicle. First, an around view image is generated from four fisheye cameras. Then, the calibration of multi TOF cameras is conducted to improve their accuracy of depth estimation and obtain extrinsic camera positions. Next, the 2D-driven object point cloud detection method is proposed to localize and segment object point clouds like vehicles or persons.

This paper intends to present a novel optimal trajectory planning method for obstacle avoidance on highways. Firstly, a mapping from the road Cartesian coordinate system to the road Frenet-based coordinate system is built, and the path lateral offset in the road Frenet-based coordinate system is represented by a function of quintic polynomial respecting the traveled distance along the road centerline. With different terminal conditions regarding its position, heading and curvature of the endpoint, and together with initial conditions of the starting point, the path planner generates a bunch of candidate paths via solving nonlinear equation sets numerically. A path selecting mechanism is further built which considers a normalized weighted sum of the path length, curvature, consistency with the previous path, as well as the road hazard risk.

The driver's face detection and tracking method important for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving in various situations. The deep SORT algorithm has integrated appearance information, the motion model and the intersection-over-union (IOU) distance methods, and has been applied to face tracking, but it depends on detection information in every frame. Once the detection information lacks, the deep SORT algorithm will wait until the target detects bounding boxes appear again, even if the target didn’t disappear or shield. Hence, we propose to use a new tracker that not completely depend on the detection algorithm to cascade with the deep SORT algorithm to realize stable driver's face tracking. At first, the driver's face detection and tracking will be accomplished by the MTCNN-deep-SORT algorithm.

Optimization design for vehicle front-end structures has proven rather essential and been extensively used to improve the vehicle performance. Nevertheless, the front-end structure needs to meet the requirement of both pedestrian safety and structural stiffness which are somewhat contradicting to each other. Furthermore, an optimal design could become less meaningful or even unacceptable when some uncertainties present. In the paper, a multi-objective discrete robust optimization (MODRO) algorithm is used to minimize the injury of head and maximize the structural stiffness involving uncertainties. MODRO algorithm is achieved by coupling grey relational analysis (GRA) and principal component analysis (PCA) with Taguchi method. The optimized result shows that the MODRO algorithm improved performance of pedestrian head injury and robustness of the vehicle front-end structure.

This paper presents an optimal cooperative path planning method considering driver’s driving intention for shared control to address target path conflicts during the driver-automation interaction by using the convex optimization technique based on the natural cubic spline. The optimal path criteria (e.g. the optimal curvature, the optimal heading angle) are formulated as quadratic forms using the natural cubic spline, and the initial cooperative path profiles of the cooperative path in the Frenet-based coordinate system are induced by considering the driver’s lane-changing intention recognized by the Support Vector Machine (SVM) method. Then, the optimal cooperative path could be obtained by the convex optimization techniques. The noncooperative game theory is adopted to model the driver-automation interaction in this shared control framework, where the Nash equilibrium solution is derived by the model predictive control (MPC) approach.

Due to the variation of compartment design and occupant’s posture in self-driving cars, there is a new and major challenge for occupant protection. In particular, the studies on occupant restraint systems used in the self-driving car have been significantly delayed compared to the development of the autonomous technologies. In this paper, a numerical study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of three typical restraint systems on the driver protection in three different scenarios.

In this paper, a new roll-plane hydraulically interconnected suspension (HIS) system is proposed to enhance the roll and lateral dynamics of a two-axle bus. It is well-known that the suspension tuning is of great importance in the design process and has also been explored in a number of studies, while only minimal efforts have been made for suspension tuning for the newly proposed HIS system especially considering lateral stability. This study aims to explore lateral dynamics and suspension tuning of a two-axle bus with HIS system, which could also provide valuable information for roll dynamics analysis. Based on a ten-DOFs lumped-mass full-car model of a bus either integrating transient mechanical-hydraulic model for HIS or the traditional suspension components, three newly promoted parameters of HIS system are defined and analyzed-namely the total roll stiffness (TRS), roll stiffness distribution ratio (RSDR) and roll-plane damping (RPD).

The vibration and instability experienced in an ambulance can lead to secondary injury to a patient and discourage a paramedic from emergency care. This paper presents a hydraulically interconnected suspension (HIS) system which can achieve enhanced cooperative control of roll, pitch and bounce motion modes to improve the ambulance's ride comfort and handling performance. A lumped-mass model integrated with a mechanical and hydraulic coupled system is developed by using free-body diagram and transfer matrix methods. The mechanical-fluid boundary condition in the double-acting cylinders is modelled as an external force on the mechanical system and a moving boundary on the fluid system. A special modal analysis method is employed to reveal the vibration characteristics of the ambulance with the HIS.

An autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system can detect emergency conditions using sensors (e.g., radar and camera) to automatically activate the braking actuator without driver input. However, during the hard braking phase, crash conditions for the restraint system can easily change (e.g., vehicle velocity and occupant position), causing an out-of-position (OOP) phenomenon, especially for unbelted occupants entering the airbag deployment range, which may lead to more severe injuries than in a normal position. A critical step in reducing the injury of unbelted occupants would be to design an AEB system while considering the effect of deployed airbags on the occupants. Thus far, few studies have paid attention to the compatibility between AEB and airbag systems for unbelted occupants. This study aims to provide a method that combines AEB and airbag systems to explore the potential injury reduction capabilities for unbelted occupants.

A 3D grid model of engine brake is established for an automobile engine. The dynamic compression release braking process is simulated by using this model. In the process of engine braking, the movement of valve and piston causes changes of the internal flow field of the engine. In this paper, the movement of valve and piston were defined by using the dynamic grid technology, so that the numerical simulation is closer to the actual situation via the updating of grid. Based on the relevant parameters of compression release engine brake (including the opening of the exhaust valve, the engine speed and the exhaust back pressure), the pressure and power of the compression release braking system were simulated under the conditions of multiple operating conditions and experimental verification was carried out. The results showed that the braking works of the compression release engine brake are mainly from the compression stroke and the exhaust stroke.

This paper introduces a vehicle model in CarSim, and replaces a portion of its standard suspension system with an HIS model built in an external software to implement co-simulations. The maneuver we employ to characterize the HIS vehicle is a constant radius method, i.e. observing the vehicle’s steering wheel angle by fixing its cornering radius and gradually increasing its longitudinal speed. The principles of the influence of HIS systems on cornering mainly focus on two factors: lateral load transfer and roll steer effect. The concept of the front lateral load transfer occupancy ratio (FLTOR) is proposed to evaluate the proportions of lateral load transfer at front and rear axles. The relationship between toe and suspension compression is dismissed firstly to demonstrate the effects of lateral load transfer and then introduced to illustrate the effects of roll motion on cornering.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are considered as the most commercial prospects new energy vehicles. Most HEVs have adopted Atkinson cycle engine as the main drive power. Atkinson cycle engine uses late intake valve closing (LIVC) to reduce pumping losses and compression work in part load operation. It can transform more heat energy to mechanical energy, improve engine thermal efficiency and decrease fuel consumption. In this paper, the investigations of Atkinson cycle converted from conventional Otto cycle gasoline engine have been carried out. First of all, high geometry compression ratio (CR) has been optimized through piston redesign from 10.5 to 13 in order to overcome the intrinsic drawback of Atkinson cycle in that combustion performance deteriorates due to the decline in the effective CR. Then, both intake and exhaust cam profile have been redesigned to meet the requirements of Atkinson cycle engine.

The combination of passive and active vehicle safety technologies can effectively improve vehicle safety. Most of them predict vehicle crashes using radar or video, but they can't be applied extensively currently due to the high cost. Another collision forecasting method is more economic which is based on the driver behavior and vehicle status, such as the acceleration, angular velocity of the brake pedal and so on. However, the acceleration and angular velocity of the brake pedal will change with the driver and the vehicle type. In order to study the effect of different drivers and vehicle types on the braking acceleration and angular velocity of the brake pedal, six volunteers were asked to drive five vehicles for simulating the working conditions of emergency braking, normal braking, inching braking and passing barricades under different velocities. All the tests were conducted on asphalt road, and comprehensive experimental design was used to arrange tests.

Hydraulic suspension systems with different interconnected configurations can decouple suspension mode and improve performance of a particular mode. In this paper, two types of interconnected suspensions are compared for off-road vehicle trafficability. Traditionally, anti-roll bar, a mechanically interconnected suspension system, connecting left and right suspension, decouples roll mode from the bounce mode and results in a stiff roll mode and a soft bounce mode, which is desired. However, anti-roll bars fail to connect the front wheel motions with the rear wheels', thus the wheels' motions in the warp mode are affected by anti-roll bars and it results an undesired stiffened warp mode. A stiffened warp mode limits the wheel-ground contact and may cause one wheel lift up especially during off-road drive. In contrast with anti-roll bars, two types of hydraulic suspensions which interconnect four wheels (for two-axis vehicles) can further decouple articulation mode from other modes.

This paper demonstrates time response analysis of the mining vehicle with bounce and pitch plane hydraulically interconnected suspension (HIS) system. Since the mining vehicles working in harsh conditions inducing obvious pitch motion and the hard stiffness of suspensions leading to the acute vibration, the passive hydraulically interconnected system is proposed to provide better ride comfort. Furthermore, the hydraulic system also increases the suspension stiffness in the pitch mode to prevent vehicle from large pitch motions. According to the hydraulic and mechanical coupled characteristic of the mining vehicles, a 7degrees of freedom (7-DOFS) mathematical model is employed and the state space method is used to establish the mechanical and hydraulic coupled dynamic equations. In this paper, the vehicles are subjected to straight line braking input, triangle block bump input applied to the wheels and random road tests.