MANUELE BERTOLUZZO, GIUSEPPE BUJA, and ROBERTO MENIS
S
TEER-BY-WIRE (SbW)
systems are candidates to
replace the conventional
steering equipment in the
new generation of vehicles.
The task of an SbW system
is two-fold: turning the
steered wheels by tracking the hand-
wheel rotation and providing the driver
with a feeling of the steering effort. In
this article, the issues of designing and
testing the control scheme for an SbW
system are discussed. Two schemes
are considered: the first one is derived
from the model of the conventional
steering equipment, while the second
one exploits the capabilities of an SbW
system to cope with the interaction of
the steered wheels to the road surface.
Implementation of the schemes on a
test vehicle is described and experi-
mental results are reported to show the
features of the schemes.
Overview
During the last decades, use of embed-
ded electronic circuits and power
devices has deeply innovat-
ed the vehicular tech-
nology, producing a
20 IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE ■ SPRING 2007
tremendous impact on
engine efficiency with the man-
agement of the combustion process, on
vehicle stability with the control of the
longitudinal and lateral behaviors, and
on driver assistance and comfort with
the introduction of plenty of systems
easing the driving maneuvers and mak-
ing the cruise more pleasant [1]. More
recently, interest has grown on the
replacement of the conventional appa-
ratus utilized to drive the vehicles with
all-electric systems such as throttle-,
brake-, and SbW systems [2]. Throttle-
by-wire systems have been installed for
a few years now and have greatly con-
tributed to both increased fuel econo-
my and reduced gas emissions.
Brake-by-wire systems are soon to be
installed, propelled on one hand by the
improvement in the vehicle control
achievable with individual wheel brak-
ing and on the other hand by the multi-
redundant setup that does not suffer
from a fault in one wheel unit. SbW sys-
tems constitute the most advanced
challenge in the assembly of an all by-
wire vehicle because of the critical role
played by the steering maneuver and
the consequent very stringent require-
ments posed on their
dependability.
In today’s vehicles, the hand-
wheel is connected to the steered
wheels by a link that can be mechani-
cal, hydraulic, or a combination of
both. The introduction of SbW systems
would eliminate such a link while carry-
ing out the peculiar tasks of steering
equipment, namely turning of the
steered wheels by tracking the hand-
wheel rotation and providing the driver
with a reaction torque representative of
the steering effort. To this aim, the
steering command is converted into an
electronic form by a sensor located on
the handwheel, is executed by an actu-
ator made up of an electric drive cou-
pled directly or through mechanical
limbs to the steered wheels, and is
transmitted from the sensor to the
actuator by a communication network;
another electric drive is coupled to the
handwheel and applies the reaction
torque to the driver.
The vehicles will benefit noticeably
by the adoption of SbW systems in
terms of active and passive driving
safety, driving ergonomics, and envi-
ronment safeguards. Active driving
0278-0046/07/$25.00©2007IEEE
 safety is achieved thanks to the avail-
ability of the steering command in elec-
tronic form that enables its conditioning
in accordance with the driving maneu-
vers, the environment conditions, and
the vehicle status. Passive driving safe-
ty is increased because of the removal
of the steering column, which is a
potentially unsafe element in case
of an accident. Driving
© STOCKBYTE, EYEWIRE
ergonomics is enhanced on account of
the larger spaces within the driver com-
partment and the possibility of shaping
the handwheel more conveniently. Envi-
ronmental safeguards are achieved in
vehicles, such as in many industrial
trucks, currently steered by means of a
hydraulic apparatus by eliminating this
SPRING 2007 ■ IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 21
apparatus as well as the relevant, highly
polluting fluids. These and other advan-
tages of an SbW system are extensively
discussed in [3].
The development of SbW systems
opens new research topics on the sys-
tem components (sensors, actuators,
communication network, electronic
units) that must be tailored to the auto-
motive context for size, reliability,
and costs; the system hardware and
software that must tolerate a fault
according to the dependability require-
ments; and the system control that
must reproduce or even outperform the
behavior of conventional steering
equipment [4].
The control topic has received con-
siderable attention in the literature. The
majority of the papers have faced the
problem of avoiding an abnormal
behavior of the SbW systems that could
result from the elimination of the
mechanical link. A key point is
the synthesis of an appropri-
ate reaction torque. In [5] it is
obtained by matching the SbW
system with a suitable model
of the steering equipment. In
[6] two sensors, one of torque
located on the handwheel and
the other one of force located
on the rack, determine the
reaction torque. In [7] an
extensive vehicle model is
used to estimate the lateral
forces acting on the tires and
to reconstruct from them the
reaction torque. Other papers
have focused on algorithms
intended to alter the steering
command with the aim of FIGURE 1 — Conventional steering equipment.
improving either the maneu-
verability of a vehicle [8] or its
lateral stability [9].
Despite the numerous τ e
papers, the arrangement of
simple but effective control
schemes for the SbW systems
is still open. Furthermore,
there is a lack of experimen-
tal analysis of the various
proposals since nearly all of
them report simulations or
hardware-in-the-loop up-
τd
shots. In an attempt to con-
tribute to the matter, this
article discusses the designs
and experiments of two con-
FIGURE 2 — Conventional steering system model.
trol schemes that accomplish
in a simple way the tasks required by
the steering maneuver.
Conventional Steering Equipment
Conventional steering equipment is a
kinematic chain composed by several
elements: the handwheel, the column,
22 IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE ■ SPRING 2007
the shaft, the pinion, the rack, the tie
rods, the arms, and the steered wheels,
as illustrated in Figure 1.
A workable model of the equipment
is shown in Figure 2 [10]. In the model
the elements of the kinematic chain are
grouped into two rigid bodies with an
in-between elastic element constituted
by the shaft. The elements on the hand-
wheel side and those on the steered-
wheel side are represented by their
total moments of inertia (designated
with Jh and Js , respectively) and vis-
Handwheel
Column
Shaft
Tie Rod Rack Pinion
Arm
Steered Wheel
Steered-Wheel Side
1 1
− Bs + sJs s
+ the tires do not turn because
τs
εϑ
Kf + sCf
1 1
Nτh Nϑh
Shaft
τr
− ing the handwheel, the steering
1 1
+ Bh + sJh s torque exceeds the stiction
Handwheel Side
cous friction coefficients (designated
with Bh and Bs, respectively). The shaft
is represented by its torsional stiffness
Kf and damping coefficient C f , while
the interaction of the steered wheels to
the road surface is represented by the
torque τe , commonly termed environ-
ment torque. Other quantities in Figure
2 are the driver torque τd , which is the
torque exerted by the driver on the
handwheel; the steering torque τs ,
which is the torque exerted by the shaft
on the steered-wheel side elements; the
reaction torque τr , which is the torque
exerted by the shaft on the handwheel
side elements; the steering and hand-
wheel angles θs and θh , which are
respectively the direction of the steered
wheels and the rotation of the hand-
wheel; the torque ratio 1/Nτh , which is
the ratio between τr and τs ;
and the angle ratio 1/Nθh ,
which is the ratio between θs
and θh . Of course, the two
ratios 1/Nτh and 1/Nθh have
an equal value, determined by
the rack-and-pinion coupling
and the tie rod and arm lever-
age. Due to the structure of the
kinematic chain, the ratios are
a nonlinear function of the
steered-wheel direction. The
nonlinearity is inherent to the
structure of the steering equip-
ment and is compensated for
by the driver that adjusts the
handwheel position to give the
vehicle the desired trajectory.
Regarding τe, two situations
can be envisaged. When the
vehicle is stationary and the
driver starts rotating the hand-
ϑs wheel, the contact patches of
the stiction torque opposes the
− steering torque; now τe is equal
to the stiction torque and is
+ transferred to the steered-
wheel side elements through
the elastic twisting of the tires.
As the driver continues rotat-
ϑh
torque and the steered wheels
begin to turn through a stick-
slip motion, if any; subsequent-
ly, τe settles down to the dry
friction torque. When the vehicle is
moving, another component of τe arises,
given by a self-aligning moment that
thrusts the steered wheels toward the
center position. This moment depends
on the steering geometry (i.e., caster
angle) and increases with the vehicle
speed and the steering angle, roughly
resembling an elastic torque.
Despite the elasticity of the tires
and shaft, the conventional steering
equipment shows a smoothed behav-
ior because of the damping inherent in
the shaft and of the friction in the cou-
plings between elements and with the
vehicle chassis.
Figure 2 points out that the shaft acts
as a proportional derivative (PD) regula-
tor that closes two position
loops, one on the steered-
wheel side and the other one
on the handwheel side. The τe
output position of one loop
enters as the reference input
for the other loop, and this
forces the handwheel and the
steered wheels to assume an
identical angular position.
The gains of the PD regulator
are given by the mechanical
parameters of the shaft so
that the responsiveness of τd
conventional steering equip-
ment is not modifiable.
SbW System FIGURE 3 — Torque scheme.
Control Schemes
In an SbW system the shaft
of the conventional steering
equipment is substituted by τe
two electric drives. One of
the drives, termed the steer-
ing drive, is coupled to the
rack and exerts the steering
torque, while the other one,
termed the reaction drive, is
coupled to the handwheel
and exerts the reaction τd
torque. This section pres-
ents two control schemes
for an SbW system. The first FIGURE 4 — Speed scheme.
scheme, designated with
the torque scheme, is derived from the
model of the conventional steering
equipment, while the second one, des-
ignated with the speed scheme, copes
with the interaction of the steered
wheels to the road surface.
Torque Scheme
If a shaft-like operation is maintained
for the SbW system, the control scheme
becomes one as in Figure 3, where the
steering and reaction drives, denoted
with DRs and DRr , receive the torque its value can be suitably adjusted to
references τr,ref and τs,ref by individual adapt the torque reaction level to the
PD position regulators, denoted with driver demands.
PRs and PRr . The resultant control
scheme is termed the torque scheme Speed Scheme
because PRs delivers the torque refer- The torque τe disturbs the control of
ence to the steering drive. In contrast the steered wheel. At low cruising
to the conventional steering equip- speeds, τe has a value comparable with
ment, here the position loops are inde- the steering torque and hence its effect
pendent and the gains of the PD on the scheme performance is appre-
regulators can be freely chosen, with ciable. For instance, when the vehicle
is stationary, the difference εθ
between the position of the
Steered-Wheel Side handwheel and that of the
1 ϑs steered wheels can be conspic-
1
− Bs + sJs s
+ uous before they begin to turn.
τs To overcome this inconven-
τs,ref ience, a closed loop of speed is
DRs PRs
εϑ − built up inner to the position
τr,ref + loop on the steered-wheel side
1
DRr PRr as outlined in Figure 4. The
Nτh
1 resultant control scheme is
SbW System Nϑh termed the speed scheme
τr − because PRs delivers the
1 1 ϑ h speed reference ωs,ref to the
+ Bh + sJh s steering drive.
Handwheel Side The speed loop is con-
trolled by a proportional-inte-
gral (PI) regulator (denoted
with SR in Figure 4) that com-
pensates for τe , thus relieving
Steered-Wheel Side the position loop from this
1 ωs 1 ϑ s task and making it capable of
−
+ Bs + sJs s tracking the handwheel posi-
τs
−
tion closely. A similar result
τs,ref ωs,ref
DRs SR PRs could have been obtained
+ εϑ −
τr,ref with the torque scheme by
1
PR +
DRr Nτh r including an integral action in
SbW System 1 the regulator PRs , but at the
Nϑh
expenses of a potential insta-
τr
− 1 ωh ϑh bility of the SbW system due
1
+ Bh + sJh Handwheel Side s to the presence of two inte-
grators and one real pole in
the same loop.
the only constraints being for the con- Experimental Setup
trol scheme to meet the specifications. A photo of the test vehicle used in
The ratios 1/Nτh and 1/Nθh are this article is shown in Figure 5(a). It
also by-choice parameters and can be is a lift truck produced by Cesab Com-
adapted dynamically to the driving pany and arranged to accommodate
conditions of the vehicle; as an exam- an SbW system. The truck comes with
ple, 1/Nθh can be decreased at low a hydraulic steering apparatus that
speeds to ease the steering maneuver turns the rear wheels and consists of
in narrow spaces; 1/Nτh , in turn, can 1) a distribution valve activated by
be set at a value lower than 1/Nθh to the handwheel, 2) a hydraulic jack fed
assist the driver in the same way as a by the distribution valve and connect-
power steering system does; moreover, ed to the rear wheels, playing the
SPRING 2007 ■ IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 23
same function as the rack in the con-
ventional steering equipment, and 3)
a pump that pressurizes the hydraulic
fluid. The rear-axle geometry of the
lift truck is such that there is no self-
aligning component of τe .
Installation of the SbW system
has required the removal of the dis-
tribution valve and the hydraulic
jack. On the steered-wheel side, a
ball screw has been mounted in
place of the hydraulic jack and an ac
brushless drive has been fitted, with
the motor coupled to the ball screw
through a gear; on the handwheel
side, another ac brushless drive has
been fitted, with the motor directly
coupled to the handwheel axle. Each
motor is endowed with a 12-b
encoder, the output of which is
employed both to control the drive
and to close the position loops of the
SbW system. The SbW arrangement
for the steering axle and the hand-
wheel of the lift truck are shown in
Figure 5(b) and (c).
The control scheme implemented
in the SbW system has the general
structure of Figure 6. It differs from the
conceptual schemes of Figures 3 and 4
in the following points:
■ the steering drive is not directly
coupled to the steered wheels; thus
a torque ratio 1/Nτ s exists between
τs and the torque τm developed by
the steering drive, and, conse-
quently, an angle ratio 1/Nθ s (equal
to 1/Nτ s ) exists between the angu-
lar position θm of the steering drive
and θs
■ the angular position sensed on the
steered-wheel side is θm instead of θs
■ in the speed scheme the angular
speed ωm of the steering drive is
used as feedback instead of that of
the steered wheels (ωs ).
The angular range of the steered
wheels is of 180◦ . In the control algo-
rithm the angle ratio 1/Nθh has been
set at 1/4; then, two rotations of the
handwheel turn the steered wheels
fully. To cover the angular range of
the steered wheels, the steering drive
does 32 revolutions. Then the angle
ratio 1/Nθ s has an average value of
64, with its actual value a function of
θs . The steering angle θs utilized in
the implemented scheme is calculat-
ed by multiplying θm by the constant
quantity Nθs , fixed at 1/64; this entails
that the variation of 1/Nθ s does not
affect the control. The correction of
the difference between the actual
steered-wheel direction θs and θs is
left to the driver as with the conven-
tional steering equipment. Moreover,
some backlash exists in the elements
linking the steering drive with the
steered wheels; however, it does not
influence the position loop in the
implemented scheme since the loop
is closed around θm and the backlash
is external to it.
The gains of the position regulators
are chosen in order to fulfill the
requirements of an average driver.
They are to direct the steered wheels
from an end position to the other one

Handwheel
Column

(a)

Motor Kingpin
Motor
Tie Rod

Ball Screw

(c)

(b)

FIGURE 5 — (a) Test vehicle, (b) steering axle top view, and (c) handwheel front view of the test vehicle with an SbW system.

24 IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE ■ SPRING 2007

within 1 s and to assure a critically
damped behavior of both the hand-
wheel and the steered wheels.
The control algorithms within the
rectangle of Figure 6, labeled “μP
board,” are executed by a 16-bit
microprocessor with a sampling peri-
od of 1 ms. The driver torque τd is
applied to the handwheel with no
human assistance by help of the μP
board and the reaction drive. For this
purpose, the microprocessor is pro-
grammed to command the reaction
drive with a torque request formed
by the difference between the driver
torque reference τd,ref and the torque
reference τr,ref .
The microprocessor communicates
with the drives via a controller area net-
work (CAN) bus working at a bit rate of
1 Mb/s, and with a PC via an RS232 con-
nection. The CAN bus is used to
exchange the torque and speed refer-
ences, the steering drive and handwheel
positions, and the supply currents of
the two drives. From the latter vari-
ables, the microprocessor calculates the
torques developed by the drives. The
PC connection is used for parameteriza-
tion and monitoring purposes. Through
a suitable software interface, at start-up
PC downloads the control parameters
to the μP board while during the SbW
system operation it uploads some
process variables. In particular, it
Steered-Wheel Side
τe 1 ωs
− + Bs + sJs
τs
1
Nτs
τm,ref ωm
τm ϑm −
DRs SR
+
ϑ′sh
Nϑh
τm,ref ωm,ref
τd − τr − τr,ref
DRr
+ Nτh
τd,ref
SbW System
1 1
Bh + sJh
Handwheel Side
FIGURE 6 — Implemented SbW control scheme.
uploads up to four variables at the same
time with a maximum number of 1,024
samples for each variable.
Experimental Results
The control schemes assessed above
have been subjected to a series of
experiments to analyze their features.
The results of a significant experi-
ment are reported below; the experi-
ment consisted of the application of a
square-wave driver torque with peak-
to-peak amplitude of 0.18 Nm and
period of 0.5 s. The aim of the experi-
ment was to characterize the SbW
system and therefore the handwheel
position loop was not closed by any
driver model.
Torque Scheme
The torque responses of the drives and
the opposite of the reaction torque ref-
erence are shown in Figure 7. The con-
tributions of τr and τd to the torque
developed by the reaction drive can be
easily recognized from the plot of
(τd –τr ) since the first contribution
matches very well with its reference
while the second one has a square-
wave form. The experimental results
show that τr is proportional to τm , thus
reproducing the steering torque exact-
ly. Regarding the magnitude, τr is about
one half τm but, due to the torque ratio
Nτ s , the torque returned to the driver
0.3
1 ϑs
s
0.2
0.1
s
[Nm]
ω′sh 0
s
N′ϑs
−0.1
ϑ′s
PRs εϑ − −0.2
1 +
PRr
1
Nϑh −0.3
μP Board
s ϑh
FIGURE 7 — Steering drive torque τm (blue), torque (τd − τr )
developed by the reaction drive (red), and reaction torque refer-
ence –τr,ref (green).
is about 1/128 of that applied to the
steered wheels. Regarding the direc-
tion, the reaction torque as applied to
the handwheel (i.e., –τr ) is the opposite
of τm so that, according to the driving
standard, it tends to rotate the hand-
wheel counter to the steered wheels.
Figure 8 reports the steering and
handwheel angles. To make easier the
comparison of the two responses, the
steering angle is referred to the hand-
wheel by multiplying θm by the prod-
uct N θ s Nθh . This angle is designated
with θsh  . The plots of Figure 8 indicate
that the application of a square-wave
driver torque causes the handwheel to
move in a nearly sinusoidal way; θsh  ,
instead, has a trapezoidal shape,
which is evidence of the fact that the
steered wheels do not track the hand-
wheel position accurately. The differ-
ence in the motion is more evident in
Figure 9 where the angular speed ωh of
the handwheel and that of the steered
wheels referred to the handwheel
(ωsh ) are traced. The two speeds have
been obtained by calculating the time
rate of the respective angular posi-
tions and by smoothing the resultant
signals with a 50-Hz low-pass filter.
Inspection of Figures 7, 8, and 9 gives a
broad hint on the operation of the
torque scheme. When the difference
εθ (not reported in Figure 6) between
 and θ is small, as it occurs for
θsh h
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Time (s)
SPRING 2007 ■ IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 25
instance in the time interval
from 0.23 s to 0.35 s, the steer-
ing drive develops a torque that
is not enough to overcome the
stiction torque; therefore, the
drive is practically at a stand-
still and the steering angle
remains constant. At about 0.35
s, the sign of εθ changes and
the steering drive begins rotat-
ing at positive speed, followed
by the steered wheels. Their
motion is originated by the elas-
tic torque of the tire twisting, as
it can be realized from the plot
of the steered-wheel speed that
t > 0.4 s continues increasing
although the torque developed
by the steering drive decreases.
At about 0.45 s, εθ becomes
again small and the operation
of the torque scheme repeats in
a periodic way.
The plots of Figures 7 and 8
show that the torque scheme
has a faithful torque reaction
but does not exert an accurate
control of the steered-wheel
direction.
Speed Scheme
The plots of θsh  and θ in
h
response to the square-wave
driver torque are traced in Fig-
ure 10 and show that θsh  tracks
θh closely, apart from a phase
delay that does not differ too
much from that of the torque
scheme in Figure 8 if only the
stiction effect is removed.
The torque responses of the
drives and the opposite of the
reaction torque reference are
traced in Figure 11, where again
the contributions of τr and τd
to the torque developed by the
reaction drive can be easily rec-
ognized. Figure 11 reveals that
τm is somewhat noisy on
account of the high gains used
in the speed regulator to com-
pensate for τe . The filtered ver-
sion of τm , obtained with a
50-Hz low-pass filter, is also
traced in the figure to highlight
its basic pattern. Unlike τm , τr
is quite smooth; it varies at the
26 IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE ■ SPRING 2007
same frequency as the driver
0.1 torque but, compared to the
0.08 torque scheme, has a lower
0.06 harmonic content.
By comparing τr with the fil-
0.04
tered version of τm , it clearly
0.02
appears that, different from the
[Rad]
0 torque scheme, the two vari-
−0.02 ables are not more proportion-
al. The reason is that in steady
−0.04
state the speed loop causes the
−0.06
position error to vanish irre-
−0.08 spectively from τe ; consequent-
−0.1 ly, in this state τr,ref is zero and
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 no reaction torque is exerted.
Time [s] During steering transients, on
FIGURE 8 — Handwheel angle θh (red) and handwheel-referred the contrary, a certain reaction

steering angle θsh (blue). torque is applied to the hand-
wheel. This behavior can be
recognized from Figure 11,
2
where –τr,ref reaches its maxi-
mum around the falling edges
1.5
of τm and then slowly decreas-
es although τm does not change
1
or even increases.
0.5 Figure 12 reports the speed
[Ras/s]
reference ωm,ref and the actual
0 speed ωm of the steering drive.
Again, ωm has been obtained
−0.5 by calculating the time rate of
θm and by smoothing the
−1 resultant signal with a 50-Hz
low-pass filter. The plots of
−1.5 Figure 12 indicate that the
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
dynamics of the speed loop
Time [s]
are accurate enough to not
FIGURE 9 — Handwheel speed ωh (red) and handwheel-referred influence the performance of

steered-wheel speed ωsh (blue).
the speed scheme.
The plots of Figures 10 and
0.1 11 show that the speed scheme
exhibits a superior control of
0.08 the steered-wheel direction but
0.06 fails in providing a faithful
torque reaction.
0.04
0.02 Conclusions
[Rad]
0
The article has presented two
schemes, termed torque and
−0.02 speed schemes, for the con-
−0.04 trol of an SbW system and has
documented their features
−0.06
through experiments. The
−0.08 torque scheme has the merit of
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 a reaction torque that repli-
Time [s]
cates the steering torque,
FIGURE 10 — Handwheel angle θh (red) and handwheel-referred including the torque existing

steering angle θsh (blue). between the steered wheels
and the road surface. This implies
that, when the handwheel is rotated
without turning the steered wheel and
then released, the handwheel moves
back toward the initial position in the
same way as in conventional steering
equipment. Conversely, the torque
scheme has the inconvenience that
the steered wheels do not track the
handwheel rotation accurately. The
speed scheme, instead, is free from
this inconvenience; however, it pro-
vides a reaction torque that does not
replicate the steering one. This
implies that the driver is not aware of
the steering effort, especially after the
alignment of the steered wheels along
the handwheel.
Improvement of the control schemes,
such as a combination of the two
schemes presented here, should give
the SbW system good overall perform-
ance, both in directing the steered
wheels and returning the steering
effort to the driver.
Biographies
Manuele Bertoluzzo received the
M.S. in electronic engineering and the
Ph.D. in industrial electronics and
computer science from the University
of Padova, Italy, in 1993 and 1997,
respectively. In 2000, he joined the
Department of Electrical Engineering
of the University of Padova as an
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
[Nm]
0
−0.1
−0.2
−0.3
0 0.2 0.4
Time (s)
FIGURE 11 — Steering drive torque τm (cyan), filtered steering drive
torque (blue), torque (τd − τr ) developed by the reaction drive (red), and
reaction torque reference –τr,ref (green).
assistant professor in the Scientific
Discipline Group of electric convert-
ers, machines, and drives. He is cur-
rently involved in the analysis and
design of control systems and com-
munication networks for automotive
by-wire systems.
Giuseppe Buja received the Laurea
degree in electronic engineering with
honors from the University of Padova,
Italy, in 1970. He is a full professor of
power electronics and the head of the
Industrial Automation Laboratory at
the Department of Electrical Engineer-
ing of the University of Padova. His
research interests range from power
electronics to industrial automation. He
has authored or co-authored more than
150 scientific papers and has recently
directed a research project, supported
by the Italian Ministry of University, on
the development of advanced by-wire
systems for industrial vehicles. Dr. Buja
is a recipient of IEEE Industrial Elec-
tronics Society Eugene Mittelmann
Achievement Award (2006).
Roberto Menis received the Laurea
degree in electronic engineering from
the University of Trieste, Italy, in 1982.
In 1984, he joined the Department of
Electrotechnics, Electronics, and Com-
puter Science of the University of Tri-
este, where he is currently an associate
professor of electric drives and the
head of the Electric Drives Laboratory.
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0
−5
−10
−15
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FIGURE 12 — Speed reference ωm,ref (red) and actual speed ωm of the
steering drive (blue).
SPRING 2007 ■ IEEE INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 27
His main research fields are modeling
and control of dc and ac electric drives.
Recently, he has participated in a
research project, supported by the Ital-
ian Ministry of University, on the devel-
opment of advanced by-wire systems
for industrial vehicles.
References
[1] R. Bosch, Bosch Automotive Handbook.
Cambridge, MA: Bentley, 2000.
[2] E.A. Bretz, “By-wire cars turn the corner,” IEEE
Spectrum Mag., vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 60–73, Apr. 2001.
[3] N. Kelling and P. Leteinturier, “X-by-wire: Opportu-
nities, challenges and trends,” in Proc. SAE Int.
Congress, Detroit, MI, paper 01-0113, pp. 1–10,
Mar. 2003.
[4] M. Bertoluzzo, P. Bolognesi, O. Bruno, G. Buja, A.
Landi, and A. Zuccollo, “Drive-by-wire systems for
ground vehicles,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Symp. Industrial
Electronics, May 2004, pp. 711–716.
[5] D. Odenthal, T. Bünte, H.D. Heitzer, and C. Eicker,
“How to make steer-by-wire feel like power steer-
ing,” in Proc. 15h IFAC World Congress on Automat-
ic Control, Barcelona, Spain, 2002. pp. 1–6.
[6] S. Amberkar, F. Bolourchi, J. Demerly, and S.
Millsap, “A control system methodology for steer
by wire systems,” in Proc. SAE World Congress,
Detroit, MI, paper 2004-01-1106, Mar. 2004, pp. 1–6.
[7] L. Verhoeff, R. Verschuren, and J. Zuurbier, “Tyre
force estimation for improved steering feel in
EPAS and steer-by-wire,” in Proc. FISITA World
Automotive Congress, Barcelona, Spain, paper
F2004F323, May 2004, pp.1–10.
[8] P. Yih and J.C. Gerdes, “Modification of vehicle
handling characteristics via steer-by-wire,” IEEE
Trans. Contr. Syst. Technol., vol. 13, pp. 965–976,
Nov. 2005.
[9] S. Oh, W. Sunf, C. Han. H. Jo, S. Yun, and J. Hwang,
“Design of the controller for the SBW system to
improve steering feel and vehicle stability,” in
Proc. ATA, paper 04A6032, 2004, pp. 1–10.
[10] M. Bertoluzzo, G. Buja, R. Menis, and G. Sulligoi,
“An approach to steer-by-wire system design,” in
Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Industrial Technology, Hong
Kong, Dec. 2005, pp. 443–447.
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