The application of wire control technology and the development of vehicle intelligence make wire control technology indispensable

The automobile has been developed for hundreds of years since it was designed. During this period, the appearance, function, and operation of the automobile have been constantly changing. From clutch to automatic transmission, from three pedals to single pedal, from driver-driven to automatic driving, the operation of the automobile is being simplified, or it is moving towards intelligence, which has forced the automobile to make some changes in its internal structure, such as assisted driving, electronic handbrake, etc. The traditional mechanical connection structure is not only not precise enough, but also more complex in structure. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, wire control technology has been applied to automobiles.

The wire control technology originated from the control system of the aircraft. It mainly refers to the connection between the signal generator and the signal receiver through cables or other motion-conducting objects. It can convert the pilot's operating commands into electrical signals and transmit them directly to the autonomous steering gear through cables. The size of the aircraft is very large, and the wire control system is more accurate and convenient in control compared to traditional mechanical or hydraulic systems. In addition, due to the omission of some mechanical transmission structures, a lot of space can be saved. Its appearance has brought great changes to the design of aircraft.

The first application of wire control technology in automobiles was in the steering system. In 2014, Infiniti launched wire control technology for the first time in the Q50 sedan, equipped with a wire control active steering system; it eliminates the traditional mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the steering wheel. When the driver turns, the signal is transmitted through the data bus and the feedback command is obtained from the steering control system to achieve the steering. In the continuous development, more control methods such as braking and acceleration have been changed to wire control.

Of course, some people may question whether it is unnecessary to use electronic control technology in cars. After all, airplanes are huge, and it is inconvenient to control them mechanically or hydraulically. However, cars are different. The distance between the front and rear wheels is only four or five meters. If wire control technology is used, wouldn’t it be like “making a phone call face to face”? In fact, there are many benefits to using wire control technology in cars. For example, the extra space can make the driving experience better, and the weight of the whole vehicle will be reduced, and energy consumption will naturally be reduced. The above two points are of great significance to new energy vehicles.

The most criticized issue of electric vehicles is the battery life. However, the wire control technology can save space, so the car can use more space for other things. Increasing the driving and passenger space inside the car is one option, and it can also be used to place batteries with larger capacities. Reducing the weight of the car can reduce energy consumption. Both have a good effect on improving the battery life of electric vehicles.

In addition, the application of wire control technology is also a major breakthrough in automobile design. We have previously mentioned the skateboard chassis technology, which uses wire control technology. Since there is no traditional mechanical connection, all functions of the car can be saved on the chassis. When the whole vehicle is produced, it only needs to connect the chassis and the body through the reserved interface, which makes the production efficiency of the car higher.

For autonomous driving, when the autonomous driving technology is in use, the instructions used are issued by the on-board computer and transmitted to the corresponding system through electrical signals. The traditional connection structure will appear redundant and lose its necessity. Now, the advanced stage of autonomous driving generally removes the steering wheel, brake pedal, etc.

However, we also have to raise some questions here, such as how to ensure the safety of wire control technology and optimize the driving experience. Although traditional mechanical or hydraulic methods may be damaged during use, this is a long process, but wire control technology is different. The failure of the sensor may occur at a certain moment. Once a failure occurs, how should the driver respond? In addition, after abandoning the traditional mechanical and hydraulic connections, the road feel and pedal feel are all simulated by motors and other devices, which is not convenient for drivers to make accurate judgments on road conditions, and if a failure occurs, it cannot be predicted in advance.

Summarize:

Although the control-by-wire technology will have a great revolutionary effect on automobiles, some safety issues still need to be answered through long-term experiments. The current autonomous driving technology is still under further research and development, and the control-by-wire technology is an important part of it. I believe that as the technology matures, this technology will be widely used in automobiles in the future, bringing more changes to the development of automobiles.