Quick Spin: ZF’s Reax Electronic Steering System
A single index finger was all that was needed to whip this Peterbilt through a Figure-8 course with ZF’s Reax steering system. Photo: Jack Roberts
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A single index finger was all that was needed to whip this Peterbilt through a Figure-8 course with ZF’s Reax steering system. Photo: Jack Roberts
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For all the angst out there concerning self-driving cars and trucks, I’ve been saying for some time that – in the early stages, at least – there will be a lot for drivers to like about autonomous vehicle technology. That’s because, if we’re talking Level 2 or Level 3 vehicle control systems (which make up the bulk of the various autonomous technologies available today), then we’re really talking about systems that are designed to work with, and compliment, a driver and make their lives a little easier, or safer, as they’re going down the road.”
ZF’s new Reax electronic steering augmentation system, showcased early in August at the company’s Commercial Vehicle Steering Technology Center in Lafayette, Ind., is a prime example of this trend. Reax is a smart, electronic control system that takes input data from various sensors around the vehicle, including the driver, and either loosens or tightens steering response based on what the truck is doing and what the driver needs in terms of steering inputs to do it safely.
Mark Cartwright, global product planning manager for ZF, noted before a test drive in mid-August that Reax is a speed-proportional control system, meaning it tightens up at low speeds and you’re cutting the wheels back and forth quickly in backing or parking operations, and it tightens it up at highway speeds when you need a better “feel” for the road and the ability to react quickly and precisely to other vehicles or debris in the road. More than that, though, Reax can look at what a driver is doing and help compensate for steering offsets to ease fatigue and increase safety.
If, for example, you’re holding …Read the rest of this story
