Bimanual drive-by-wire system with haptic feedback

It is believed that in the near future, drive-by-wire, or even drive-by-wireless, devices will become a standard in the automotive and aeronautic industries. This work presents an innovative drive-by-wire system that allows steering, throttling and braking to be controlled with a single mechatronic device. The complete driving system consists of two symmetrical devices that are virtually coupled to provide bimanual driving capabilities and improved comfort. It also takes advantage of haptic technology to provide the user with an outstanding driving experience. This work describes the design and control algorithms of the developed system, as well as preliminary experiments carried out in a driving simulator to analyze its maneuverability and performance. The results show that users adapt quickly to the proposed system and good performance when comparing it with a wheel-pedal gaming set.