Steering Feedback Transparency Using Rack Force Observer

The closed-loop electric power-assisted steering and steer-by-wire systems are
non-transparent
toward the environment, i.e., the tire–road interaction dynamics. To achieve driver–environment
transparency
, a rack force estimate is required. With the introduction of dynamic rack force observer feedback, a closed-loop interconnection is formed. Therefore, the driver coupled stability must be ensured with this interconnection. Consequently, an upper bound condition on transparency is derived using
passivity
for different control architectures. For selecting an observer with reasonable performance, two rack-force estimation schemes are investigated and compared, i.e., using vehicle motion signals from the inertial measurement unit sensor and the steering system sensors. Experiments indicate that the former approach has inferior performance due to vehicle inertia and signal latency, whereas in the latter approach, nonlinear estimation using second-order dynamics provides the best result; hence, it is selected to realize transparency. Finally, real-world experiments on an electric power-assisted steering vehicle illustrate the differences between non-transparent and transparent steering feedback when driving at the limits of handling on an icy road surface.