Boosting the efficiency, productivity, safety, and intelligence of mobile machines is of utmost importance to original equipment manufacturers, system suppliers, and end consumers given the accelerated demand on fossil fuels, increased environmental awareness, and impetus for mitigating hazardous operation. This work deals with a novel steering technology that addresses the above needs for articulated mobile machines, wheel loaders in particular. In a steering-only cycle, the new technology results in 14.5% fuel savings, 22.6% productivity gain, and 43.5% fuel efficiency increase as measured on a prototype test vehicle. From an active safety standpoint, the new technology offers the potential for devising yaw stability control via active steering by employing a virtual yaw rate sensor, which reduces the number of physical sensors and cuts production cost, maintenance, and downtime. For added machine intelligence, the new steering technology employs adaptive control to cope with uncertainties, nonlinearities, and disturbances that result from the wide-ranging conditions in which mobile machines operate. Last but not least, the new technology classifies as steer-by-wire (SBW) and thus permits remote as well as autonomous operation.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite