Single Pedal Mechanism For Leg Amputated Person and For The Reduction Time

Theme: Disruptive Technology for Affordable and Sustainable Mobility
2-5 October, 2018

Chennai Trade Centre, India
INDIA
F2018-VCP-053
Presentation
SESSION No 60 : STN8 Title VALUE APPROACH
– SUSTAINABLE
(Arial Bold 30pt)
SINGLE PEDAL MECHANISM
Author, Co-author Name, Organization (Arial 23pt)
FOR LEG AMPUTATED PERSON
AND FOR THE REDUCTION OF REACTION TIME
Hari Prasath.T B.E,*
Dr. John Alexis, Mohnish Arya P
Company Logo
Introduction
INDIA FISITA 2018
Employment for physically challenged people can help them lead a better life on their own, and this system
could lead them to work even in the driving field.
Reaction time is the time taken by the driver to take his foot from the Accelerator pedal and apply his foot
on the brake pedal.
Reducing this reaction time could give an opportunity for the driver to avoid or reduce the consequence of
accidents.
An experimental setup is constructed for both the conventional and single pedal system and the investigation
on reaction time for both the systems is done by virtually creating the road traffic environment.
Single Pedal Mechanism for Leg Amputated Person and for the Reduction of Reaction time F2018-VCP-053
Problem Description
INDIA FISITA 2018
In real traffic, the driver reaction to expected and unexpected stimuli are different, reported
that the mean of reaction times for unexpected and expected stimuli are 1.3 seconds and 0.7 seconds
respectively. Reducing this reaction time could give an opportunity for the driver to avoid or reduce the
consequence of accidents.
Pedal error crashes can occur when the driver steps on the accelerator when intending
to apply the brake which can cause sudden vehicle acceleration often at full-throttle. These Pedal
Error are often underestimated. Nowadays the increment in the death rate of India is about 20% due
to the accidents on the highways.
Leg amputated people are easily neglected in the driving sector and also drivers who have
faced accident and lost their leg could not even think their way back to driving sector. This scenario
can be eliminated with this type of mechanism.
Problem Approach
INDIA FISITA 2018
Literature survey
Design survey
Experiment
Fabrication of
conventional and
single pedal
Comparison of
reaction time Working Test for
Model Adaptability
Development
Analysis of
Result
Literature Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
• Japanese inventor Masuyuki Naruse claims that placing the brake and acceleration pedals in our cars
side-by-side, just inches apart, is a dangerous design flaw.
(Brake-and accelerator pedal assembly Patent number: 5293976; Date of Patent: March 15, 1994).
• Ricard Nilsson has studied various single pedal mechanisms and reported in his paper on “Evaluation
of combined brake–accelerator pedals.” There was about 30 combined pedal mechanism over those
years. One of these, the Winkelman pedal, was developed in 1959 and was later evaluated for its
reaction time braking ability. Winkelman’s pedal was found to give about a 0.2-s shorter reaction time
with braking in comparison with conventional pedal mechanism. The new combined brake and
accelerator pedal was devised by Sven Gustafson and further developed by the Swedish company
NomixDevelopment Inc. The pedal is mounted approximately where the accelerator is normally placed.
Literature Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
• Xiaoliang Ma and Ingmar Andréasson in their paper on “Driver reaction time estimation from real car
following data and application in GM-type model evaluation” they stated that, In real traffic, the driver
reaction to expected and unexpected stimuli are different, reported that the mean of reaction times for
unexpected and expected stimuli are 1.3 seconds and 0.7 seconds respectively.
• Steven M. Casey and Steven P. Rogers in their paper on “The Case Against Coplanar Pedals in
Automobiles” reported that movement times between the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are
somewhat faster when both pedals are in the same plane, more inclusive human factors analyses re-
veal that there are several important reasons to locate the brake pedal above the accelerator pedal.
• Georgia Prosthetics have said that certain countries may require that amputees undergo an
assessment to evaluate their driving abilities, and whether or not the amputee needs to make any
special modifications to his or her vehicle before operating.
Normal modifications in this situation may be one (or more) of the following:
- A left foot gas pedal may be required so the driver can have adequate control of the vehicle.
- The driver must have an automatic transmission as opposed to a manual transmission.
- A power brake must be applied.
Literature Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
• Kathy.H. Lococo, Loren Staplin in their paper on “Pedal Application Error” (PAE) stated that half of the pedal
misapplication events occurred while drivers were either turning the vehicle or reversing which are actions
that are generally associated with adjustments to drivers positions, suggesting that variations in driver
positioning may influence pedal misapplication rates. The PAE are often underestimated. The main reasons
are
- Many PAE crashes did not result in a reportable accident and thus were not registered in the data-
base.
- Not all drivers admitted to the authorities that they pressed the unintended pedal.
- Those crashes that were registered as caused by ‘brake failures’ may actually have been cause by
PAE because the drivers may not have been aware of having pressed the wrong pedal.
According to the auto safety regulator, there is significant variation among vehicle makers on pedal
placement as well as the fact that there is no globally accepted standard for regulating pedal placement.
Drivers who are under 20 years of age and over 65 experience pedal error crashes about four times more
frequently than other age groups, according to an NHTSA study.
Problem Approach
INDIA FISITA 2018
Literature survey
Design survey
Experiment
Fabrication of
conventional and
single pedal
Comparison of
Model Adaptability
Development
Analysis of
Result
Design Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
Pedal position is measured in three dimension. The position of the pedal may relate to the driver’s safety
and comfort in an automobile. Pedal positioning is dependent upon factors such as a driver’s leg length,
foot length and seat position, as well as vehicle footwell size.
Van Cott & Kinkade’s book on Human Engineering Guide to Equipment Design (1972) suggested that
• Pedals that are used intermittently or for short period of time be 76 mm and the pedals that are used
continuously or for a long period of time be 279 mm to 310 mm.
• The minimum pedal width should be as wide as the shoe sole width which, according to them is 51
mm.
• The brake pedal should have 102 to 178mm of travel. They also noted that an ankle-operated pedal
should not have 51 mm of travel or 10 degrees angle.
Design Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
S.No Length Width
mm mm
1 279 to 310 51
Design Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
Humanscale(1973), a report organized by Henry Dreyfuss Associates claims that
• Accelerator pedal should be from 229 mm to 305 mm and the optimal length should be 254 mm and
the brake pedal length should be between 25 mm and 305mm.
• The accelerator pedal width should be 51 to 114 mm and optimally be 89 mm. The brake pedal
width should be 76 to 108 mm and optimally be 102 mm.
• For an accelerator pedal, the travel should be less than 20 degrees, and when the foot is resting on
the accelerator pedal, the pedal displacement should be less than 5 degrees. As for a brake pedal,
the normal travel should be between 127 to 178mm with an optimal range of 51 to 152 mm.
Design Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
S.No Length Width
mm mm
1 279 to 310 51
2 Accelerator – 229 to 305 Accelerator – 51 to 114

Brake – 25 to 305 Brake – 76 to 208
Design Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
Woodson’s book on Human Factors Design Handbook: Information and Guidelines for the Design of
Systems, Facilities, Equipment, and Products for Human Use (1981) says that
• The accelerator pedal length should be 279 mm.
• The width of the accelerator pedal should be 51mm to 76 mm
• Accelerator pedal angular travel should be 15 degrees and the desirable brake pedal travel is
dependent upon the seat height. If the seat is higher than 432 mm, the brake pedal moving path
should be straight downward and forward (piston type).
Design Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
S.No Length Width
mm mm
1 279 to 310 51
2 Accelerator – 229 to 305 Accelerator – 51 to 114

Brake – 25 to 305 Brake – 76 to 208
3 279 51 to 76
Design Survey
INDIA FISITA 2018
• The authors maintained that if the pedals were placed where the drivers preferred or expected
the pedals, pedal misapplication errors may be mitigated.
• When designing a pedal system for the civilian driving population, including both younger and
older individuals, the pedal resistance recommendations from earlier studies may not be
appropriate.
• Pedals are an important component of Human Vehicle Interface (HVI). Although there have been
safety concerns about pedals, the existing design guidelines, standards and research studies
reviewed provide few pedal design specifications from the perspective of improving comfort and
safety of drivers who are represented in pedal misapplication errors.
Considering all the above factors a pedal was fabricated with following dimensions:
1 Pedal length 290 mm

2 Pedal width 55 mm
3 Floor to pedal 90 mm
Problem Approach
INDIA FISITA 2018
Literature survey
Design survey
Experiment
Fabrication of
conventional and
single pedal
Comparison of
Model Adaptability
Development
Analysis of
Result
Experiment
INDIA FISITA 2018
• Single Pedal System
- The pedal works on a see-saw mechanism.

- Two compression springs are used for the retraction.
- Galvanized iron sheet is used for the fabrication of the pedal.
- The corners are chamfered for safety purposes.
- A circular rod is used as a fulcrum point at centre of the pedal.
• Conventional Pedal system
- A conventional pedal system of accelerator and brake was

- fabricated.
- Different shape of pedals was fabricated in order to differentiate
- brake and accelerator.
- It is mounted on a rectangular frame.
- The corners of the pedals are chamfered for the safety purposes.
Determination of Reaction Time
INDIA FISITA 2018
• For comparing the reaction time for both conventional pedal and the single pedal a circuit was developed.
• Both the models have a PIC micro controller and a timer to note the reaction time that is the time taken to lift the
foot from the accelerator pedal and press it on the brake pedal.
• The main idea of developing the circuits is to show the difference in the reaction time.
Determination of Reaction Time
INDIA FISITA 2018
• During the test, 150 random people who are of different gender and different driving experience were
taken in account.
• One day we placed both system near our college canteen and we requested all to try it. Students,
Professors, Bus drivers, Workers and many more were considered
• The test is that all have to use both the pedal systems which were fabricated with a timer. From this the
reaction time taken for each pedal system of the drivers are taken to tabulate and compare.
• They were all asked to use only one leg on both systems as this concentrates for leg amputated people.
• The time when they have to throttle and brake were given to them as colour flags, in which green stands
for throttle and red for brake.
Problem Approach
INDIA FISITA 2018
Literature survey
Design survey
Experiment
Fabrication of
conventional and
single pedal
Comparison of
Model Adaptability
Development
Analysis of
Result
Comparison of Reaction Time
INDIA FISITA 2018
SCALE:
X axis – People
Y axis - Seconds
Out of those 150 readings we averaged it to 15 based on men, women and older people and the result is above.
From the above graph, we infer that there is a reduction of reaction time by 25% - 35% time using the single
pedal system.
Problem Approach
INDIA FISITA 2018
Literature survey
Design survey
Experiment
Fabrication of
conventional and
single pedal
Comparison of
Model Adaptability
Development
Analysis of
Result
Working Model Development
INDIA FISITA 2018
After developing the model and testing it with the timer, the timer is removed and an electrical drive train
is linked with the single pedal mechanism. This is done to prove the mechanism is working in real time.
For this,
1. TVS Excel’s rear wheel, drum brake.
2. An AC single phase motor.
3. Motor is of 986rpm and 186.42 watts.
A new frame is welded similar to the pedal frame

and the drive train is mounted on top of it. The button located below,
powers the motor.
The motor power is transmitted to the wheel. This happens when

S.NO Angle Speed (rpm)
accelerating and while braking the push button above, forces the drum
1 51 275
brakes on the wheel and braking action happens.
2 52 480
3 54 986
Acceleration with respect to angle

Working Model Development
INDIA FISITA 2018
Problem Approach
INDIA FISITA 2018
Literature survey
Design survey
Experiment
Fabrication of
conventional and
single pedal
Comparison of
Model Adaptability
Development
Analysis of
Result
Test for Adaptability
INDIA FISITA 2018
• Adaptation is a bridge towards any betterment. Even in Automobile there has been lot of changes in the way
we drive in later 19th century starting from first known automotive foot control which was introduced in 1890
when the French manufacturer, Panhard, adopted a foot pedal clutch to operate the gearbox to latest single
pedal drive in BMW i3.
• From those changes we come to know that adaptation paves way for the easier driving methods.
• So, test was taken to know the adaptation of the drivers. For this test only few people who were not part of
test 1 were considered.
• In this test they were asked to use the single pedal with same flag commands which is green for throttle, red
for brake and yellow for idling. The number of attempts taken were noted.
• The same was repeated again but with different flag commands as yellow for brake, green for idle and red for
throttle. Likewise, the number of attempts taken for correct application of pedals are noted.
Test for Adaptability
INDIA FISITA 2018
The data from the test 2 are as follows:
S.no Gender Age Driving Experience (in years) Regular flags (no.of attempts) Mixed flags (no.of attempts)
1 M 21 2 1 3
2 F 22 3 1 1
3 M 20 2 1 2
4 M 21 0 3 4
5 F 21 1 2 5
6 F 22 1 1 1
7 M 22 3 1 1
8 F 21 0 2 3
9 F 20 2 1 2
10 M 24 5 1 2
11 M 23 3 1 4
12 F 19 0 1 1
13 M 24 3 2 1
14 M 27 9 1 6
15 M 26 7 1 3
Problem Approach
INDIA FISITA 2018
Literature survey
Design survey
Experiment
Fabrication of
conventional and
single pedal
Comparison of
Model Adaptability
Development
Analysis of
Result
Analysis of Result
INDIA FISITA 2018
From the above graphs we can see that drivers with no experience anyhow require time to
adapt either methods and also drivers with more experience since they have been used to the
regular commands and methods. But it proves that the system is adaptable with increase in practise
for previously experienced drivers.
Limitations and Future Scope
INDIA FISITA 2018
• Limitations
- A lot of time is required for the drivers to adapt to this type of mechanism.
- More research work has to be done in order to use this type of mechanism in real world for all drivers.
• Future Scope
- Next, I would like to develop a model with IC engine and test it with leg amputated person.
- Upon further research it can also be used in Electric Vehicles.
Summary
INDIA FISITA 2018
1. Literature survey on previous and possibility of developing a single pedal mechanism.
2. Design survey on developing a single pedal mechanism.
3. Comparison of reaction time is done.
4. Developing a working model.
5. Adaptability is tested.
6. Results are analyzed.
Conclusions
INDIA FISITA 2018
The following points are presented as conclusions from the test.
• This mechanism enables the driver to control acceleration and braking using one feet, which will
reduce the reaction time by 25% to 35% in braking, misjudgement and ultimately decrease in
number of road accidents that may happen each day.
• A test for driver adaptation is taken and the result is proven that any new driving method take
certain time to adapt depending on the driver.
• In order to eliminate problems for leg amputated persons this single pedal mechanism is designed
to function as both brake and accelerator, which can be adopted by driver quickly and effortlessly
and help them drive like all others.
INDIA FISITA 2018
THANK YOU
HariPrasath Thangavelu
B.E - Automobile Engineering
hari.prasadh75@gmail.com
+91 77082 95002

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Theme: Disruptive Technology for Affordable and Sustainable Mobility

2-5 October, 2018

S.No Length Width

Humanscale(1973), a report organized by Henry Dreyfuss Associates claims that

S.No Length Width

2 Accelerator – 229 to 305 Accelerator – 51 to 114

• The accelerator pedal length should be 279 mm.

• The width of the accelerator pedal should be 51mm to 76 mm

S.No Length Width

2 Accelerator – 229 to 305 Accelerator – 51 to 114

1 Pedal length 290 mm

• Single Pedal System

- The pedal works on a see-saw mechanism.

• Conventional Pedal system

- A conventional pedal system of accelerator and brake was

A new frame is welded similar to the pedal frame

The motor power is transmitted to the wheel. This happens when

Acceleration with respect to angle

The data from the test 2 are as follows:

- Upon further research it can also be used in Electric Vehicles.

1. Literature survey on previous and possibility of developing a single pedal mechanism.

2. Design survey on developing a single pedal mechanism.

3. Comparison of reaction time is done.

4. Developing a working model.

6. Results are analyzed.

The following points are presented as conclusions from the test.

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