Performance of emergency steer assist in front wheel and rear wheel steering vehicle

A first step towards autonomous rear-end collision avoidance is to start providing natural support to driver in avoiding collision by steering and braking intervention. The proposed system detects slower-moving and stationary vehicles ahead and classifies the risk of having a rear-end-collision. If the risk is high and there is insufficient space to avoid a collision by braking only, the system helps the driver to steer around the obstacle by overlaying steering torque and braking individual wheels. Two prototype vehicles have been tested for emergency steer assist. One prototype vehicle, equipped with electric power steering system, adds overlay steering torque to support driver in avoiding collision. Another prototype vehicle, equipped with rear wheel steering, adds rear steering angle to support driver in avoiding collision.