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Active steering corners with precision
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30/01/2008
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Advances in all-wheel steering for heavy good vehicles will reduce the risk of rollovers
By steering the wheels on each axle on a heavy goods vehicle and improving the control algorithms, it is possible to steer much more precisely – and get long tractor-trailer combinations around roundabouts more easily.
The technology can also be used to reduce the risk of rollovers, when heavy goods vehicles change lanes and keep vehicles on track if they hit icy conditions or strong side-winds
The technology comes from the same Cambridge Vehicles Dynamics Consortium responsible for the improved anti-lock braking technology described in the January edition of Eureka.
Professor David Cebon, professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering and head of the project explained that the basic idea is to provide, “electronic control of all the wheels so that the back end of the vehicle truly follows the front”.
As well as improving safety, the technology will allow goods vehicles in the UK to be made longer, with double trailer units, which are much more fuel efficient per tonne of cargo carried.
A longer version of this article appears in the forthcoming February issue of Eureka.
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Author
Tom Shelley
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