A Haptic Interface for Automobile Gearshift Design and Benchmark Jorge Juan Gil, I˜ naki D´ıaz, Egoitz Iturritxa, and Borja Prieto CEIT and TECNUN, University of Navarra, San Sebasti´ an, Spain {jjgil,idiaz}@ceit.es http://www.ceit.es

Abstract. Design, ergonomics and haptic feedback are features critical to the development of an eye-catching automobile gearshift. Manufacturers have to design and test a large number of prototypes, with different transmissions, dynamics, etc., before an appealing and marketable solution can be found. This paper introduces a haptic interface for automobile gearshift design and benchmark. It allows automobile gearshift developers to test new models quickly and change most critical design features on the fly in order to find the best possible solution. As a result, traditional trial-and-error methods can be avoided, significantly reducing design costs and time. The system is also a powerful test-bed to perform large-scale studies to analyse key selling features and preferences among customers. Keywords: haptic device, automobile technology, gearshift design.

1

Introduction

In the competitive automobile industry, even the sound made when closing the vehicle’s door can be of great relevance to the choosy customer. The development of a new automobile component implies the design of many prototypes before the final solution can be found. In this phase, traditional trial-and-error methods are generally used to analyse different solutions, significantly increasing design costs and time. We have developed a haptic interface for automobile gearshift design and benchmark (Fig. 1). The interface is able to easily reconfigure a two degrees of freedom (DOF) haptic device to easily test multiple design features like gearshift travels or dynamics. A single mechanical device can be used as a universal gearshift prototype on which new design ideas can be immediately tested. As a result, time and costs can be significantly reduced in the design phase of product development. In addition, the prototype can be used to perform large-scale studies in order to obtain valuable performance feedback from potential customers. Many industrial fields already incorporate haptic interfaces in the design phase of product development. In aeronautics, haptic interfaces are used to replace expensive physical mock-ups with CAD models in order to evaluate the maintainability of externals during the development stage [1,2], significantly decreasing M. Ferre (Ed.): EuroHaptics 2008, LNCS 5024, pp. 906–911, 2008. c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008 

A Haptic Interface for Automobile Gearshift Design

44

º

55

907

º

encoder dc motor

Fig. 1. Haptic interface for automobile gearshift design and benchmark

time-to-market and thereby saving money. In the same way, companies in the automotive industry are likely to take advantage of this technology applying it to design-for-assembly projects [3]. Likewise, haptic gearshifts are already being tested in vehicle simulators [4,5], and are available in commercial train simulators (Lander Simulation and Solutions, S.A.) to help drivers acquire in-depth knowledge of different systems. The main advantage of these devices is their flexibility in simulating different types of transmissions (i.e. manual, automatic, sequential, etc.) with a single mechanical device. There are also low-cost solutions [6] that considerably enhance the interactivity of these driving simulators. In addition, dynamic modelling has been incorporated in order to make these systems as similar as possible to real ones [7,8]. This paper describes a haptic application where engineers can define a gearshift’s desired behaviour in terms of many variables such as force profiles, number of gears, travels, shape, among others, and can immediately test its real performance on a haptic device. Many of these parameters can also be changed in real-time. Another valuable feature of the application is the possibility of simulating undesirable conditions which affect the transmission such as wrongly engaged gears or mechanical vibrations.

2

System Architecture

Fig. 2a describes the design process of a new automobile gearshift prototype. A brainstorming session and analysis phase of market needs and manufacturer goals is followed by a design phase, which leads to the development of CAD models where main features like transmission type, number of gears, reverse gear configuration or geometrical dimensions are determined. Afterwards, a real prototype is developed, enabling engineers to check design results. In general,

908

J.J. Gil et al.

this leads to new changes to the original design, resulting in another prototype and so on, until a definitive one satisfies project requirements.

Manufacturer Customer

New design

Manufacturer Consumer

New design Off-line Matlab GUI

Database Prototype

(a) Common process

Haptic benchmark On-line interface

2-DOF device

Prototype

(b) Haptic-based process

Fig. 2. Design processes of an automobile gearshift

We have developed a haptic interface where new design ideas can be immediately tested on a re-configurable haptic gearshift. In this solution, new design features are not tested on real prototypes, but on the haptic gearshift itself (Fig. 2b). Consequently, the number of real prototypes needed at this stage is considerably reduced. Following subsections will describe in detail the proposed interface and its features. 2.1

Haptic Device

The 2-DOF haptic gearshift (Fig. 1) was specially designed to simulate a wide range of commercial automobile gearshifts, in terms of dimensions and peak output forces through the knob (75 N). It is a parallel 2-DOF mechanism driven by commercial Maxon dc motors and specially designed and built cable transmissions [6]. Furthermore, the knob of the device is easily interchangeable in order to increase similarity to that of a real prototype. 2.2

Gearshift Model Parameters

The haptic interface, flexible enough to reproduce multiple high-fidelity design features, may very well become a universal prototype for gearshift design. The automobile market is full of a myriad of gearshift solutions with varying features. First of all, the transmission type can differ widely from one model to another: manual transmission, automatic, sequential, hybrid transmissions, etc. In each model, the number of gears can also be very different, as well as the vertical and horizontal distances from one gear to another. Another factor in the design of a gearshift is the way the reverse gear is engaged, as well as its position in the system. The haptic interface has been specially designed to address all of these parameters.

A Haptic Interface for Automobile Gearshift Design

909

In addition to transmission type and overall geometric dimensions, force feedback felt by the user when engaging a gear can be easily modified. Small displacements perceived like backlash, which typically occur in neutral gear, can also be emulated. 2.3

Description of the Application

Two applications have been developed for the haptic interface. The first is a R GUI application that allows designers to easily despecially designed Matlab termine the dynamic behaviour of the gearshift off-line (Fig. 3a). The application generates the force profiles that users will feel through the knob of the haptic device in all possible displacements. These profiles are saved in configuration files and stored in a database with other gearshift models. In order to build these profiles, the type of transmission (i.e. manual, sequential, automatic, etc.) must first be selected and the number of gears introduced. Afterwards, the shape of the gearshift, that is, the position of the gears, the horizontal and vertical distances between them, as well as the type of reverse gear desired, are determined. Finally, the designer introduces (graphically or numerically) a set of positionforce points, after which the rest of the force-profile is automatically generated by interpolation techniques.

R (a) Off-line Matlab GUI

(b) On-line ControlDesk interface

Fig. 3. Software applications

Once the dynamic behaviour of the gearshift is defined, a second application uploads the model from the database and controls the haptic device (Fig. 3b). This application has two environments: a dSPACE ControlDesk interface that allows users to select from the different models of the database and controls the device, and an OpenGL environment that graphically represents the knob displacements and enhances interactivity with the system. The ControlDesk application reads encoder information from the haptic device, processes the haptic control loop (considering the loaded gearshift features), and outputs torque commands to the motors at a sampling period of 1 kHz.

910

2.4

J.J. Gil et al.

Failures Simulation and Additional Features

The system is also able to easily acquire extensive data while testing the simulated gearshift model. At each sampling period of the haptic control loop, knob spatial positioning, motor torque or user force (attaching a force sensor to the knob) can be measured and saved. Moreover, the system can be used to obtain performance information by carrying out studies among drivers (i.e. the preference of softer or harder transmissions, longer gear travels, etc.). We have also equipped the system with the ability to simulate a number of failure modes in order to analyse driver response under these conditions. This include, but are not limited to, wrongly engaged gears, a non-engaging reverse gear or a gearshift which locks in neutral gear. Failures can be used to detect driver disturbance thresholds, for example. By introducing tiny ranges of vibrations to the gearshift, the level or frequency at which the driver feels annoyed can be detected. This data is then taken into account for the development of the end device.

3

Conclusion and Further Research

Manufacturers are constantly striving to improve existing technology to develop cutting-edge transmission systems that can offer drivers an enjoyable shifting experience. This paper presents a haptic interface that can be used by these manufacturers to improve the design and development of gearshift mechanisms. The system can reduce the amount of prototypes necessary in the design phase of product development, significantly decreasing time-to-market and thereby saving money. It converts a 2-DOF haptic device into a universal and flexible gearshift prototype, in which new design features like transmission type or geometrical dimensions can be easily modified and tested. Furthermore, many key features can be changed on the fly, improving analysis and parameter-fitting procedures. The haptic interface can also be used by automotive manufacturers for competitive benchmarking of different automobile gearshifts, as well as to carry out large-scale studies among customers to analyse key selling features and statistical data to be interpreted by engineers. In the future, realistic sound feedback and specially designed foot-pedals are planned to be integrated into the interface in order to enhance overall system realism. Gearshift design engineers may also figure out new tools to improve the performance of the system. Acknowledgements. The authors would like to thank Ficosa International for promoting and funding this project.

References 1. Chen, E.: Six degree-of-freedom haptic system for desktop virtual prototyping applications. In: First International Workshop on Virtual Reality and Prototyping, Laval, France, pp. 97–106 (1999)

A Haptic Interface for Automobile Gearshift Design

911

2. Borro, D., Savall, J., Amundarain, A., Gil, J.J., Garc´ıa-Alonso, A., Matey, L.: A large haptic device for aircraft engine maintainability. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications 24(6), 70–74 (2004) 3. Kochan, A.: Haptic robots help solve design issues. Industrial Robot: An International Journal 30(6), 505–507 (2003) 4. Frisoli, A., Avizzano, C., Bergamasco, M.: Simulation of a manual gearshift with a 2-dof force-feedback joystick. In: IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 1364–1369 (2001) 5. Tideman, M., van der Voort, M., van Houten, F.: Design and evaluation of a virtual gearshift application. In: IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, pp. 465–470 (2004) 6. Bengoechea, E., S´ anchez, E., Savall, J.: Optimal Cost Haptic Devices for Training Simulators for Driving. In: Engineering The User Interface: From Research to Practice. Springer, Heidelberg (in press) 7. Angerilli, M., Frisoli, A., Salsedo, F., Marcheschi, S., Bergamasco, M.: Haptic simulation of an automotive manual gearshift. In: 10th IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, pp. 170–175 (2001) 8. Frisoli, A., Aviazano, C., Bergamasco, M., Data, S., Santi, C.: Dynamic modeling of primary commands for a car simulator. In: IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, pp. 1070–1075 (2001)

A Haptic Interface for Automobile Gearshift Design and ...

vehicle's door can be of great relevance to the choosy customer. The development of a new automobile .... Software applications. Once the dynamic behaviour of ...

423KB Sizes 1 Downloads 218 Views

Recommend Documents

A Haptic Interface for Automobile Gearshift Design and ...
large-scale studies to analyse key selling features and preferences among customers. Keywords: haptic .... Software applications. Once the dynamic behaviour ...

On the Design Method of a Haptic Interface ... - Semantic Scholar
Abstract: A haptic interface can be a passive system with virtual coupling as a filter. Virtual coupling has been designed for satisfying passivity. However, it affects transparency of haptic interface as well as stability. This paper suggests new de

On the Design Method of a Haptic Interface ... - Semantic Scholar
The Z-width which is the dynamic range of achievable impedance was introduced[2] and it represents the range of impedance when the passivity is guaranteed.

Grabity: A Wearable Haptic Interface for Simulating ... - Alex Olwal
22 Oct 2017 - HTC Vive controller) utilize vibrotactile feedback. Normal-. Touch and TextureTouch, on the other hand, are devices that can render texture or contact angle to a single finger [7] using a tilt platform and tactile array, respectively. G

Grabity: A Wearable Haptic Interface for Simulating ... - Alex Olwal
Oct 22, 2017 - [email protected]. Figure 1. Grabity is a novel, unified design based on the combination of vibrotactile feedback, uni-directional brakes, and asymmetric skin stretch. The .... of different virtual masses, and their associated iner

A Sketch-Based Interface for Collaborative Design
tems (e.g., CAD systems), on the other hand, provide con- siderable ... A more flexible approach for sketch- ing 3D shapes of ..... phous elements, such as clouds, fire and water, tradition- .... Human Factors in Computing Systems (1995), pp.

human factor for kinematic design of a haptic device
Apr 21, 2001 - (E-mail : {khk,doiki,wkchung,youm}@postech.ac.kr). Abstract. In designing a haptic device, human kinematic properties should be regarded for the ..... [16] http://www.aeat.co.uk. [17] http://www.cs.utah.edu/ tthompso/haptics.html.

A computational interface for thermodynamic ...
processes, the kinetics of the system, e.g. the microstructure as a function of time, ... Calc and MATLAB [6] by the MEX (MATLAB Executable) file .... however, from release R14SP2, LOADLIBRARY is supported on both Windows and Linux. 5.

A Large Haptic Device for Aircraft Engine Maintainability
(Revima) VR system supports maintain- ... maintainability design have always aimed to delete— ... from any CAD system and they have not been optimized.

Stability Boundary and Transparency for Haptic ...
From the control point of view, a haptic system is a sampled-data controlled ... used in haptic devices do not allow implementing large values of K and B.

the resonant interface hci foundations for interaction design pdf ...
There was a problem previewing this document. Retrying... Download. Connect more apps... Try one of the apps below to open or edit this item. the resonant ...

User interface design for rescue robotics
terfaces will be an integral part of any practical mobile robot system, particularly in a .... along with the colour main camera and thermal imager, 7 channels of ...

User interface design for rescue robotics
and Engineering. University of New ... much like how various golf courses are different but compa- ... Large sensing shadows near the robot's left and right shoul- ders are .... trol a motor vehicle so instead of mapping human-like move- ment to ...

pdf-1869\soa-and-web-services-interface-design-principles ...
... of the apps below to open or edit this item. pdf-1869\soa-and-web-services-interface-design-principles-techniques-and-standards-the-mk-omg-press.pdf.