Quiet Wheel™ Steering: Advanced Safety, Convenience & Comfort for ADAS Levels 2-5
February 7, 2024
Imagine… You’re running late for a critical meeting and desperately hunting for a parking spot within a crowded, chaotic city street. What relief! The last open spot in the entire city reveals itself right in front of your destination – but it’s a tight fit. You pull up, turn on your vehicle’s parallel park assist and try to relax while the vehicle parks itself – only to be agitated by the spinning steering wheel mirroring your spinning mind as the vehicle eases into the parking spot.
Hands-off ADAS features and functions, like pull compensation, automated park assist, automatic emergency steering (AES) and others, have numerous safety benefits for drivers. But many current applications of these ADAS features include a steering wheel that still rotates in front of the driver – even during automated maneuvers. This rotation could be annoying – and potentially hazardous – depending on the application.
That’s where Nexteer’s Quiet Wheel™ Steering comes in.
Quiet Wheel™ Steering Enhances Safety, Convenience & Comfort in Semi-to-Fully Automated Driving
Our Quiet Wheel™ Steering adds another level of safety, convenience and comfort for drivers by allowing the steering wheel to remain still during SAE ADAS Levels 2-5 maneuvers, as well as automated driving applications.
Keeping the steering wheel still during hands-off ADAS maneuvers like parallel park assist eliminates the potential hazard of a fast-rotating wheel in front of the driver AND creates a more peaceful and comfortable environment in the cabin.
When Quiet Wheel™ Steering is paired with a Stowable Steering Column, the still steering wheel can also retract into the dashboard when automated driving is engaged – thus increasing space for driver comfort and other activities. This creates a more spacious cabin area that allows drivers to take full advantage of automated driving features and gives them more room to enjoy their ride.
Steer-by-Wire Makes Quiet Wheel™ Steering Possible
Quiet Wheel™ Steering is an advanced steering software feature that is made possible by Steer-by-Wire (SbW) – which replaces the mechanical connection between the handwheel and roadwheels with algorithms, electronics and actuators. Consequently, the steering wheel doesn’t need to move when the vehicle parks itself or avoids an obstacle using AES, as it becomes a tool used only for active driving, when the driver provides steering input and needs to sense road feedback.
Our Quiet Wheel™ Steering and SbW technologies are just a couple of the many advanced safety and performance solutions creating new possibilities for how drivers use and experience their vehicles. With innovative motion control solutions like these, Nexteer is accelerating mobility to be safe, green and exciting for today and tomorrow.
