400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 U.S.A. Tel: (724) 776-4841 Fax: (724) 776-5760 Web: www.sae.org SAE TECHNICAL PAPER SERIES 2006-01-1173 Development of a Steer-by-Wire System for the GM Sequel Douglas Cesiel and Michael C. Gaunt General Motors Corporation Brian Daugherty Visteon Corporation Reprinted From: Steeri ng & Suspension Technology and Tire & Wheel Technology (SP-2019) 2006 SAE World Congress Detroit, Michigan April 3-6, 2006 Downloaded from SAE International by University of British Columbia, Wednesday, August 01, 2018The Engineering Meetings Board has approved this paper for publication. It has successfully completed SAE's peer review process under th e supervision of the session organi zer. This process requires a minimum of three (3) reviews by industry experts. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of SAE. For permission and licensing requests contact: SAE Permissions 400 Commonwealth DriveWarrendale, PA 15096-0001-USAEmail: [email protected]: 724-772-4028 Fax: 724-776-3036 For multiple print copies contact: SAE Customer Service Tel: 877-606-7323 (inside USA and Canada)Tel: 724-776-4970 (outside USA)Fax: 724-776-0790Email: [email protected] ISSN 0148-7191 Copyright © 2006 SAE International Positions and opinions advanced in this paper are those of the author(s ) and not necessarily those of SAE. The author is solely responsible for the content of th e paper. A process is available by which discussions will be printed with the pap er if it is publishe d in SAE Transactions. Persons wishing to submit papers to be considered for presentation or publicat ion by SAE should send the manuscript or a 300 word abstract to Secretary, Engineering Meetings Board, SAE. Printed in USADownloaded from SAE International by University of British Columbia, Wednesday, August 01, 2018 1 Copyright © 2006 SAE International ABSTRACT Steer-by-wire systems (SBW) offer the potential to enhance steering functionality by enabling features such as automatic lane keeping, park assist, variable steer ratio, and advanced vehicle dynamics control. The lack of a steering intermediate shaft significantly enhances vehicle architectural flexibility. These potential benefits led GM to include steer-by-wire technology in its next generation fuel cell demonstration vehicle, called “Sequel.” The Sequel’s steer-by-wire sy stem consists of front and rear electromechanical actuators, a torque feedback emulator for the steering wheel, and a distributed electronic control system. Redundancy of sensors, actuators, controllers, and power allows the system to be fault-tolerant. Control is pr ovided by multiple ECU’s that are linked by a fault-tolerant communication system called FlexRay. In this paper, we describe the objectives for fault tolerance and performance that were established for the Sequel. An overview of the system design and development process is pr esented. The resulting component layout and control system architecture is discussed. We conclude that it may be possible for a steer-by-wire system to meet certain objectives for fault tolerance and performance. It can also provide design flexibility that enables new vehicle architectures such as the Sequel fuel cell vehicle. INTRODUCTION: The goals of the Steer-by-Wire system are to support the GM Sequel vehicle requirements as well as learn more about the performance attributes and safety considerations of a full steer-by-wire system. Steer-by-wire systems replace the conventional mechanical linkages with electronic sensors, controllers and actuators. The style of driver interface selected for the Sequel vehicle is a conventional steering wheel. Non-conventional driver interfaces, such as a joystick, are tec