February
2003
Mechatronics
To improve everything
from fuel economy to performance, automotive researchers are turning to
"mechatronics," the integration of familiar mechanical systems with
new electronic components and intelligent-software control. Take brakes. In the
next five to 10 years, electromechanical actuators will replace hydraulic
cylinders; wires will replace brake fluid lines; and software will mediate
between the driver's foot and the action that slows the car. And because lives
will depend on such mechatronic systems, Rolf Isermann, an engineer at
Darmstadt University of Technology in Darmstadt, Germany, is using software
that can identify and correct for flaws in real time to make sure the
technology functions impeccably. "There is a German word for it: grndlich ,"
he says. "It means you do itreally right."
In order to do
mechatronic braking right, Isermann's group is developing software that tracks
data from three sensors: one detects the flow of electrical current to the
brake actuator; a second tracks the actuator's position; and the third measures
its clamping force. Isermann's software analyzes those numbers to detect
faults-such as an increase in friction-and flashes a dashboard warning light,
so the driver can get the car serviced before the fault leads to failure.
"Everybody
initially was worried about the safety of electronic devices. I think people are
now becoming aware they are safer than mechanical ones," says Karl
Hedrick, a mechanical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley.
"A large part of the reason they are safer is you can build in fault
diagnoses and fault tolerance. Isermann is certainly in the forefront of people
developing technology to do this."
Isermann is also working
to make engines run cleaner. He is developing software that detects combustion
misfires, which can damage catalytic converters and add to pollution. Because
it's not practical to have a sensor inside a combustion chamber, Isermann's
system relies on data from sensors that measure oxygen levels in exhaust and
track the speed of the crankshaft (the mechanism that delivers the engine's
force to the wheels). Tiny fluctuations in crankshaft speed accompanied by
changes in emissions reveal misfires. If a misfire is detected, the software
can warn the driver or, in the future, might automatically fix the problem.
Partnerships with
manufacturing companies-including DaimlerChrysler and Continental Teves-merge
the basic research from Isermann's group with industry's development of such
technologies in actual cars. Isermann says that "80 to 90 percent of the
innovations in the development of engines and cars these days are due to
electronics and mechatronics." Until recent years, mechatronic systems
were found mainly in such big-ticket items as aircraft and industrial equipment
or in small precision components for products such as cameras and photocopiers.
But new applications in cars and trucks have helped prompt a surge in the
number of groups working on mechatronics. The trend has been fueled by falling
prices for microprocessors and sensors, more stringent vehicle-emissions
regulations in Europe and California, and automakers' wanting to enhance their
vehicles with additional comfort and performance features.
Although the luxury
market looms largest today-new high-end models from BMW contain more than 70
microprocessors that control more than 120 tiny motors-mechatronics will be
moving into the wider car market within five years, says Lino Guzzella,
codirector of the Institute of Measurement and Control at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology. And with software like Isermann's on board, the
electronic guts of these new driving machines should be as sturdy and reliable
as steel. - David Talbot
Others in
MECHATRONICS RESEARCHER PROJECT Lino Guzzella
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Engine modeling and control systems Karl Hedrick and Masayoshi Tomizuka
U. California, Berkeley Control systems and theory Uwe Kiencke
U. Karlsruhe Digital signal processing Philip Koopman
Carnegie Mellon U. Fault tolerance in control software Lars Nielsen
Linkping U. Engine control systems
MECHATRONICS RESEARCHER PROJECT Lino Guzzella
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Engine modeling and control systems Karl Hedrick and Masayoshi Tomizuka
U. California, Berkeley Control systems and theory Uwe Kiencke
U. Karlsruhe Digital signal processing Philip Koopman
Carnegie Mellon U. Fault tolerance in control software Lars Nielsen
Linkping U. Engine control systems
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