Electronic Stability Control using TTCAN and Fuzzy Logic

Abstract

European Union has made ESC a mandatory for cars from 2008 and for heavy
trucks & coaches to be fitted with ESC from 2010. US govt highway traffic safety
administration has ordered Electronic Stability Control on all cars before 2012.
Skidding is one of the main reasons for traffic crashes, particularly those with
fatal results. ESC actively supports the driver in those dangerous driving situations in
which there is a risk of skidding and keeps the vehicle safely on course.
This project is a demonstration of ESC. Electronic stability control, or ESC, uses
the speed sensors on each wheel and the ability to brake individual wheels. ESC adds a
control unit that monitors steering wheel angle and vehicle rotation around the vehicle's
vertical axis. This unit uses the steering and rotation information to detect that the vehicle
is about to travel in a direction different from the one indicated by the steering wheel
position. Then ESC automatically brakes the appropriate wheel to help the driver
maintain control. A driver loses control when the vehicle goes in a direction different
from the one indicated by the position of the steering wheel. This typically occurs when a
driver tries to turn very hard (swerve) or to turn on a slippery road. Then the vehicle may
understeer or oversteer. When a vehicle understeers it turns less than the driver intended
and continues in a forward direction because the front wheels have insufficient traction.
When it oversteers it turns more than the driver intended because the rear end is spinning
or sliding out. ESC can prevent understeering and oversteering by briefly braking the
appropriate wheel.
ESC builds on the advantages of ABS. ABS prevents the wheels from locking
under full braking. ESC consists of ABS, added sensors and software. It checks where the
driver wants to steer and where the vehicle is actually going, 25 times a second. If it
identifies a critical situation, it reacts faster then the eye can blink.
ESC comes under hard real time system that needs a scheduling system to ensure
that all transmission deadlines are met even at peak bus loads. Time Triggered
Communication on CAN (TTCAN) is a software implementation of the time triggered
function of TTCAN, based on existing CAN IC’s. When the nodes are synchronized, any
message can be transmitted at a specific time slot, without competing with other
messages for the bus. Thus the loss of arbitration is avoided, the latency time becomes
predictable. At the heart of the Electronic Stability Control ECU the fuzzy control offers
more robust and efficient ABS control systems since the dynamics of the braking systems
are highly nonlinear and time variant.
These are some common situations where ESC could come in.
A truck unexpectedly changes lanes and forces the driver to take sudden avoiding action.
The curve of the road exit is tighter than the driver thought.
The door of a parked car suddenly open.
A cyclist in front of the vehicle makes an unexpected swerve to the left.
A person suddenly runs across the road and forces an avoiding maneuver.
 Electronic Stability Control using TTCAN and Fuzzy Logic

Front Left Front Right Rear Left Rear Right

Wheel Wheel Wheel Wheel
Control Unit Control Unit Control Unit Control Unit

TTCAN BUS
Electronic
Stability Control
Fuzzy
(ESC)Control
ECU

MSSP

SPI
Steering Lateral
Break Pedal
Angle Acceleration
Position ECU
Dashboard ECU
ADC ECU
MSSP ADC
Display (LCD)

Steering Angle MEMS Break Pedal

Sensor Accelerometer Position Sensor

WHEEL CONTROL UNIT

T
T
C W
P
A Wheel Actuator H
Wheel Control W
M

N E
ECU M Circuit E
B L
U
S
 TTCAN ECU

SOF

INT
Tx
CAN CAN
Micro Controller Transceiver
M
Controller MCP Rx PCA
S
PIC 2515 82C250
S
16F87XA
P SPI

CANH CANL

Fuzzy Logic Block

D
Steering Wheel E
F
Angle F
U
U
Z
Lateral Z
Z
Acceleration Z 4W
F
F Driving
I FUZZY I Motor
C
Wheel Speed RULE C Torque
A BASE A (PWM)
T (Inference) T
I
Break I
O
O
N
N