Abstract
Keywords: Driving assistance system, x-by-wire, steer-by-wire, truck with trailer, automatic steering, control system, remote control, truck with trailer model
This paper presents a new approach for a reverse assistant for vehicle combinations, such as passenger car-trailer systems up to truck-semitrailer or truck-trailer combinations. The realisation of the system is based on the application of a steer-by-wire actuator or at least on an electrical steering device.
The backward motion of trucks with trailers is of practical interest. There are many low speed applications where trucks with trailers need to be driven backwards, e.g. in crowded freight depots, when approaching a warehouse or due specific traffic situations. When having to perform such manoeuvres in an area of high traffic appearance, remarkable traffic obstructions up to traffic jam can be observed. In such situations even by less experienced drivers a rapid reverse manoeuvre should be carried out. The problem to reverse a truck-trailer combination is not only caused by the running behaviour itself, which is in principle an unstable one, but also by the very limited view, which is available only from the both exterior mirrors.
The introduced driving assistant relieves the driver from the task of stabilisation by means of additional steering motions even in the opposite direction of the planned driving direction. The aim of the concept is to allow the driver to perform reverse manoeuvres with the vehicle combination similarly to those with an single vehicle.