Driver Assistance and Augmentation Systems

New vehicles have the ability to aid in the driving task like never before but must be carefully designed to work smoothly and effectively with the driver. Harnessing technical advances such as steer-by-wire (which decouples the road wheel from the steering wheel) and individual wheel braking, the dynamics of a car and what it means to drive can be completely reshaped. With appropriate control algorithms, the car can be designed to follow the driver’s command when safe but smoothly modify that command as necessary to avoid collisions. Current research focuses on guiding drivers safely through emergency situations that require careful coordination of steering and braking in order to avoid a collision.