Schaeffler Contributes to OmniSteer Project

New types of chassis with electric drives and wheels that can be steered inpidually enable the increase in maneuverability and thus efficiency, specifically in flowing urban traffic. Funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the OmniSteer project is targeted at researching appropriate concepts and prototypes by 2018 and has an allocated budget of € 3.4 million.

According to project managers Dr. Marcel Mayer from Schaeffler and Dr. Michael Frey from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the increasing automation and electrification of vehicles make it possible to offer users advanced driving functions. They note that electric drives offer a huge added value compared to internal combustion engines because they can directly incorporate electric drives into each wheel.

Along with advanced wheel suspension types that enable a wider range of steering motion on the front and rear axle, appropriate distance and lane guidance systems are also being developed that will considerably increase maneuverability.

Mayer, who is in charge of Schaeffler’s “Automated Driving” work group and is conducting research at the KIT as part of the SHARE (Schaeffler Hub for Automotive Research in E-Mobility) research partnership, claims that it is possible to switch smoothly between front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel steering depending on the situation.

Driving maneuvers in congested spaces—such as changing lanes in a traffic jam and turning corners or when approaching road works—will become more efficient with OmniSteer in terms of time and energy, and this will enhance the way in which lanes are used. Delivery services will also enjoy a huge benefit, since it will be possible to constantly pull into parking spaces at a right angle to the traffic’s direction, which in turn will make it possible for even the smallest parking spots to be used and quickly enable traffic to continue moving. Dr. Frey from the KIT’s institute of vehicle systems engineering, explains that these driving functions thus directly increase comfort, energy efficiency and safety as well as enhance the use of space and the traffic flow in cities in the long run.

A scaled-down demo vehicle featuring a lateral and transverse guidance system that is capable of conducting orthogonal, multi-directional, and non-linear driving and steering maneuvers is also being developed as part of the OmniSteer project. Thanks to these three features, advanced driving functions are enabled and hence, make it possible to use the full potential of automation in electrically-driven vehicles. The vehicle will employ sensors to recognize its surroundings, estimate the best possible travel path, and independently carry out complex maneuvers. There is also a display and operating unit that enables the driver to choose and monitor the driving functions and to interfere if necessary. The FZI Research Center for Information Technology is contributing maneuver and trajectory planning processes to the project, which choose the best possible chassis configuration based on the situation.

The OmniSteer project, which initially represents the holistic approach to steering, is slated to last for three years. The partners in the project are Schaeffler, HELLA, PARAVAN, and researchers from the KIT and its Information Technology Research Center. It also gets support from associated partners such as Custom Interactions, DEKRA, and Cluster Electric Mobility South-West (ESW). Nearly € 1.9 million of the € 3.4 million overall budget is being given by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of its “e-MOBILIZE – Intelligent and Efficient Electric Mobility for the Future” program.