Driving environment assessment using fusion of in- and out-of-vehicle vision systems

Because the overall driving environment consists of a complex combination of the traffic Environment, Vehicle, and Driver (EVD), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) must consider not only events from each component of the EVD but also the interactions between them. Although previous researchers focused on the fusion of the states from the EVD (EVD states), they estimated and fused the simple EVD states for a single function system such as the lane change intent analysis. To overcome the current limitations, first, this paper defines the EVD states as driver’s gazing region, time to lane crossing, and time to collision. These states are estimated by enhanced detection and tracking methods from in- and out-of-vehicle vision systems. Second, it proposes a long-term prediction method of the EVD states using a time delayed neural network to fuse these states and a fuzzy inference system to assess the driving situation. When tested with real driving data, our system reduced false environment assessments and provided accurate lane departure, vehicle collision, and visual inattention warning signals.     

Improved method for analyzing automotive transmission parts (shaft/gear) manufactured using the warm shrink fitting process

There are three sub-processes associated with the assembly of an automobile transmission: heat fitting, shrink fitting, and combination fitting. In the heat fitting stage, the gear is heated to a specified temperature and then squeezed towards the outer diameter of the shaft. The stress of the heat-fitted gear depends on the yield strength of the gear. In the shrink fitting process, the gear is typically squeezed towards the shaft at room temperature using a press. An alternate method, known as warm shrink fitting, heats the already warm gear and safely squeezes it toward the shaft. The warm shrink fitting process for automobile transmission parts is becoming more commonplace, but the additional heating can cause the dimensions of the assembled parts (shaft/gear) to change with respect to both the outer diameter and the profile of the gear. As a result, there may be additional noise and vibration between gears. To address these problems, we analyzed the warm shrink fitting process using the contact pressure caused by fitting interference between the outer diameter of the shaft and the inner diameter of the gear, fitting temperature, and the profile tolerance of the gear as design parameters. In this study, a closed form equation for predicting the contact pressure and fitting load is proposed. This equation is used to develop an optimization technique for the warm shrink fitting process. The reliability of the model was verified using experimental results measured in the field, and FEM with thermal-structural coupled field analysis. Actual loads measured in the field showed good agreement with the results obtained by theoretical and finite element analysis, and expansion of the outer diameters of the gears agreed well with the results.     

Motor control of input-split hybrid electric vehicles

A motor control strategy for an input-split hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is proposed. From a power characteristic analysis, it is found that the powertrain efficiency decreases for speed ratios at which power circulation occurs. Using dynamic models of an input-split HEV powertrain, a motor-generator control algorithm for obtaining high system efficiency is designed by inversion-based control. The performance of the control algorithm is evaluated by the simulator which is developed based on PSAT, and simulation results are compared with the test results. It is found that, even if the engine thermal efficiency is sacrificed by moving the engine operation point from the OOL for the control strategy, improved overall powertrain system efficiency can be achieved by the engine operation that gives a relatively high efficiency from the viewpoint of the overall powertrain efficiency. The control algorithm developed can be used in design of future electric vehicles.     

Sensor fusion-based lane detection for LKS+ACC system

This paper discusses the market trends and advantages of a safety system integrating LKS (Lane Keeping System) and ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), referred to as the LKS+ACC system, and proposes a method utilizing the range data from ACC for the sake of lane detection. The overall structure of lane detection is the same as the conventional method using monocular vision: EDF (Edge Distribution Function)-based initialization, sub-ROI (Region Of Interest) for left/right and distance-based layers, steerable filter-based feature extraction, and model fitting in each sub-ROI. The proposed method adds only the system for confining lane detection ROI to free space that is established by range data. Experimental results indicate that such a simple adaptive ROI can overcome occlusion of lane markings and disturbance of neighboring vehicles.     

迈向可持续的公共交通之路--首尔公交改革的经验与成就(连载)

2004年7月1日,首尔市政府在全市开展了深刻的针对公交系统的整合性改革,这一举措成为迈向可持续性城市交通的重要一步.这次公交改革成功实施的关键在于它将管理机构、创新技术、基础设施的建设以及公交的组织和运营融为一体.经过一系列改革之后,首尔的交通面貌焕然一新：通过进一步协调交通运输容量和需求之间的矛盾,提高了运营效率,增加了乘客人数,使公交运营商的收入自启动集成收费系统之后得到增加.     

Three-dimensional numerical wave tank simulations on fully nonlinear wave–current–body interactions

A finite-difference scheme and a marker-and-cell (MAC) method are used for numerical wave tank (NWT) simulations to investigate the characteristics of nonlinear wave motions and their interactions with a stationary three-dimensional body in the presence of steady uniform currents. The Navier–Stokes (NS) equation is solved in the computational domain, and the boundary values are updated at each time-step by a finite-difference time-marching scheme in the frame of a rectangular coordinate system. The fully nonlinear kinematic free-surface condition is satisfied by the marker–density function technique developed for two fluid layers. The incident waves are generated from the inflow boundary by prescribing a velocity profile resembling the motions of a flexible flap wavemaker, and the outgoing waves are numerically dissipated inside an artificial damping zone located at the end of the tank. Using the NS–MAC NWT, nonlinear wave and current interactions around a stationary vertical truncated circular cylinder are studied, and the results are compared with the experimental results of Mercier and Niedzwecki, a time-domain NWT based on linear potential theory, a fully nonlinear NWT, and a second-order diffraction computation. Received: July 3, 2001 / Accepted: September 25, 2001     

Analysis of a large injection-molded body using knowledge-based flow process technology

A knowledge-based flow process is presented for large injection-molded body technology (LIMBT). Injection molding of a large body is a difficult technique because of the many factors and their interactions during the molding process. The proposed flow process can support LIMBT through integration of CAE(Computer-Aided Engineering), CAI (Computer-Aided Inspection), and monitoring systems. CAE and DOE (Design of Experiment) are used to construct an optimal mold design in terms of gates and runners and to identify working conditions for the molding process. CAI and monitoring systems with temperature sensors and pressure sensors can be used to inspect the physical molding process and the molded parts. The flow process of a large body is systematically planned and constructed using a knowledge-based flow process with DOE and computer-aided technologies. The proposed flow process is implemented for the molding process of an automobile front bumper fascia.     

Lateral controller design for an unmanned vehicle via Kalman filtering

This paper proposes a lateral control system for an unmanned vehicle that is designed to improve the responsiveness of the system with the use of a PD control. The vehicle heading error can be stabilized, and the transient response characteristics can be improved using the proposed controller. A mathematical model of the vehicle dynamics using two degrees of freedom was developed for the controller design. The waypoint tracking method for autonomous navigation was tested with incorporation of the Point-to-Point algorithm with position and heading measurements received from GPS receivers via Kalman filtering. The performance of the designed controller was verified through experiments with a real vehicle.     

Modeling and control of an anti-lock brake and steering system for cooperative control on split-mu surfaces

The brake and steering systems in vehicles are the most effective actuators that directly affect the vehicle dynamics. In general, the brake system affects the longitudinal dynamics and the steering system affects the lateral dynamics; however, their effects are coupled when the vehicle is braking on a non-homogenous surface, such as a split-mu road. The yaw moment compensation of the steering control on a split-mu road is one of the basic functions of integrated or coordinated chassis control systems and has been demonstrated by several chassis suppliers. However, the disturbance yaw moment is generally compensated for using the yaw rate feedback or using wheel brake pressure measurement. Access to the wheel brake pressure through physical sensors is not cost effective; therefore, we modeled the hydraulic brake system to avoid using physical sensors and to estimate the brake pressure. The steering angle controller was designed to mitigate the non-symmetric braking force effect and to stabilize the yaw rate dynamics of the vehicle. An H-infinity design synthesis was used to take the system model and the estimation errors into account, and the designed controller was evaluated using vehicle tests.     

Validation of the 6-dof vehicle dynamics model and its related VBA program under the constant radius turn manoeuvre

For a 6-dof (degrees of freedom) nonlinear vehicle dynamics model and its related VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) program, which were recently derived and coded by the authors, validations are carried out under the constant radius turn manoeuvre. This model has the uniqueness that the longitudinal translation, lateral translation and yaw rotation of a platform are described by an inertial ground coordinate system and the body-roll, body-pitch, and body-yaw rotations by a platform-fixed coordinate system. The simplified STI tire model is applied for the calculation of combined longitudinal and lateral tire forces. Vehicles used in the calculation are a NISSAN DATSUN 210 (manufactured in 1980) and a HONDA ACCORD (1984). The calculation results of the present 6-dof model are compared with the published test data and those of a simpler 3-dof lateral dynamic equation based on another coordinate system. As a result of the comparison, the present 6-dof results agree very well with those of the 3-dof model and give a partial consistency with the test data.