Improved handling characteristics of off-road vehicles by applying active control of steering wheel torque

Abstract

Driving speed of agricultural mobile machines have been increased in the recent years, raisingserious questions about vehicle handling characteristics considering the high center-of-gravity, multi-massconfiguration and rear-wheel-steering of these vehicles. The next generation of steering systems on offroad vehicles will incorporate a steering column mechatronic subsystem which will generate tactilefeedback for operator. This paper presents our research work to utilize steering wheel torque to improveoff-road vehicle handling characteristics.