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Annual Reviews in Control

PERGAMON
Annual Reviews in Control 22 (1998) 133-144

MECHATRONICS IN GROUND TRANSPORTATION-CURRENT

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES W. KortIim*, . R.M. Goodall**, J.K. Hedrick***

TRENDS AND

*) DLR, Institute for Robotics and System Dynamics, D-82234 Wessling, Germarzy **) Loughborough University, Loughborough Leics. LEII 3TU, UK ***) University of California, Berkeley, CA 94 720-I 740, USA Abstract: The paper provides a review of the current and future impact of mechatronic technologies upon ground transportation systems. The basic idea of mechatronics is explained first, followed by an appraisal of social and environmental factors which dictate the fundamental requirements for ground transport. The way in which mechatronics has already affected the design of road and rail systems is described, and various indications are given regarding future mechatronic developments. Some concluding remarks bring together the various ideas in order to predict the long term possibilities from a full exploitation of mechatronics. Keywords: Mechatronics, Technology System Dynamics, Control, Ground Transportation Systems

1. INTRODUCTION Ground transport, both public and private, will continue to develop to meet perceived social and economic needs. Although the technology embodied within the transport systems should primarily be a servant to the needs of the people who use them, at the same time technological changes are undoubtedly enabling factors which can profoundly influence both the amount and manner of their use. The integration of electronics and control into systems which have traditionally been purely mechanical in nature represents a radical change which has already affected a number of industries (Anon, 1994), (Commetford, 1994). This paper will review the current state-of-the-art of mechatronic technologies within automotive and railway systems, identify the further exploitation which is already anticipated, and speculate upon where such developments may lead in the longer term, taking social and economic considerations into account. The authors of this paper were among the first researchers to propose or study the application of electronic control to ground transportation systems such as railways, Maglev-vehicles and automotive systems, see e.g. (Goodall, et al. 198l), (Korttlm, 1993), (Hedrick et.al., 1974). These activities have resulted in a number of state-of-the-art articles (Hedrick, I98 I), (Hedrick and Wormley, 1975) (Goodall and Korttlm, 1983), (Goodall and KortUm, 1991), (Goodall, 1997) which different organisations have requested. Earlier contributions raised questions on the potential and feasibility of active suspensions such as ,,Are active suspensions really necessary? (Kamopp, 1978) and whether active suspension are ,,an avoidable luxury or an inevitable consequence? (Goodall and Korttlm, 1990). However, such doubts have now largely been answered, because electronic control has penetrated comprehensively into vehicle systems which formerly were purely mechanical. A few popular examples are ABS, ASC, active and semi-active suspensions and active steering in automobiles, as well as wheel slip/slide systems, active suspensions and active tilting devices in railways. Some authors already call mechanical systems with the addition of electronic control components ,,mechatronic systems. However, such systems should really be called electro-mechanical for the following two reasons: i) the different electronic components are not really integrated with each other into the complete system; ii) the electronic components are often just added onto a system which was originally designed from a purely mechanical viewpoint, leading to an improvement but not to an optimum. Most systems in use today are limited in these two respects, but do work satisfactorily. Thus: what is mechatronics, and why is it important?

1367-5788/98/$19.00 Q 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved PII: S1367-5788(98)00014-S

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1.1 What is Mechatronics? To start with a formal definition, (Rietdijk, 1990): ,, Mechatronics is the synergetic combination ofprecision mechanical engineering, electronic control and
systems thinking in the design of products and processes.

Mechatronics which may be cited instead of fbrther

explanations:
1. Mechatronics is not a new branch

2. 3.

Looking at todays products resulting mainly from rather isolated developments of engineering specialities such as structural mechanics, sensors, actuators, control engineering and electronics, their design strategies may be called multidisciplinary but not interdisciplinary. At best the different disciplines have been applied serially, Fig. 1, but not (yet) concurrently.

4. 5.

6. hadisciplinary Iterations 7. 8.
I

9.

10
Dbciplimes: Aerodynamics Structures Aeroclasticity, etc.

of engineering, but a newly developed concept that underlines the necessity for power@ interaction between dlfirent fields of engineering. Mechatronics can be considered as having a rejuvenating eflect on mechanical engineering. Electromechanics is an intrinsic part of mechanical engineering. Lorentz forces play just the same kind of role as, say, pneumatic, hydraulic or ,, mechanical forces. Measurement and control is the backbone of mechatronics. The mechatronic approach to design may bring considerable savings in weight, energy consumption and costs. Western industry makes many mechatronic products. If the western industry wants to survive the fierce international competition, considerable attention has to be given to mechatronics. Mechatronics wili stimulate and contribute to the developments in its constituent parts. The importance of mechatronics must be stressed at all levels in the teaching of mechanical engineering. Mechatronics only describes a subsynthesis of direrent fields; the ideal design constitutes a total synthesis. Mechatronics is an ideal example of the integration of software and hardware. (Like body and sotdo-

Fig. I : Serial Application of Disciplines In a real mechatronic system approach, Fig. 2, the resultant whole should be greater than the sum of its parts! The most significant word in the above definition is ,,synergetic . Synergy is what can prevail if the constitit parts of an overall system are chosen optimally and work together to bring out the best in each other. The resulting product may be given performance characteristics which far outstrip those previously attainable, see Table].

10 Fixed Qualities

Learning Qualities

Table 1: Properties of Mechatronic Versus Electromechanical Systems (similar to Isermann, 1996) It should be noticed that the term ,,Mechatronics was coined by the Japanese to describe the contributions of mechanical and electronic engiqeering into ,,integrated systems concepts, although the foundations were laid by Western researchers (Hunt, 1988). Fig. 2: Mechatronic System Approach (by Kevin C. Craig and Fred R. Stolfi (1994)) J.A. Rietdijk (1990) formulates ,,Ten Propositions on 1.2 Scope of the paper As we approach the 2 1st century, mobility continues to play a central role, in particular with the strong de-

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mands on sustainable developments, i.e. to keep the balance between present technological - advances and environmental drawbacks. Traffic and transportation systems technologies (Papageorgiou, 1991) are key technologies for the 21st century, (Linsmeier, 1995). This is why the technology of ground transportation systems has to take a large step change in its developments to keep up with other industries, especially aerospace, and to enable Mechatronics to play a central role. The scope of this paper is to substantiate this statement by first describing the future transportation requirements (Section 2); then, based on current state-of-theart and current developments both in the Automotive and in Railway industries (Section 3), some trends for the future are described (Section 4). The purpose of this paper is manifold: one aim is to open the eyes of ground transportation developers to the potential of Mechatronics; another is to indicate to the more mobility- and traffic-oriented colleagues the need for further technological developments; finally, it should highlight to transportation technologists the ideas of synergy, and the way it can improve all modes of transportation systems to serve the overall need of mobility of people. 2, TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS - PRESENT AND FUTURE The key to future transportation technology depends upon peoples needs. There is a clear expectation of a continuing and even increasing need to travel over distances (of up to perhaps 800 km) for which ground transportation is applicable or even optimal, but the form of the technology and the balance between different modes of travel will change as a consequence of social, economic and environmental factors. This increase in human mobility is expected to occur both in the developed and the third world. The trends in the third world are more difftcult to predict because developments will be highly dependent upon local prosperity, but in the developed world with (relatively) mature economies it seems inevitable that national governments ability to develop and sustain the basic infrastructure for ground transportation will diminish. Economic and environmental pressures are restricting the development of existing road and rail routes and the building of new routes; increasingly travellers will be required to bear their transportation costs more directly: on the roads through the progressive introduction of road pricing schemes, on the railways through the erosion of subsidies for state-owned organisations (and in many cases their transfer to the private sector). The expectations of passengers regarding the performance and effectiveness of their transportation will in-

crease, and this expectation will be sharpened by a clearer awareness of the true costs of travel. The difftculties of meeting these expectations will be compounded by the higher requirements for travel, all at a time when it is not clear how the basic transport infrastructures will continue to be supported. Increased congestion seems inevitable, particularly on the roads, and effective intermodal travel is likely to prosper. This will require enhanced cooperation between transport providers, ironically at a time when they are being driven into a strongly competitive position! In the longer term, the use of automobiles will undergo radical operational changes through the introduction of intelligent vehicle-highway systems in which the driver will relinquish control on the major trunk routes, requiring enhanced technological systems in the vehicles and sophisticated legislative frameworks. The railways in principle have great capacity for expansion, but onfy if they can provide a significant enhancement in the reliability and flexibility of travel for the passengers. So, in what way can technology contribute? It is certain that purely technologically-driven design (i.e. technology for its own sake) cannot flourish in the future transportation environment. And yet, technology has a vital part to play, because it is impossible to see how future requirements can be met without fundamental changes. However, it must be responsive to the needs of customers and operators and future systems; the driving factors will be effective trade-offs between cost and performance, more efficient and effective use of the existing infrastructure plus other issues such as energy-efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Addressing the potential impact of mechatronic technologies to ground transportation in the light of these genera1 aspects a few facts and trends can be gathered: i) Increasing demands for more and more ,,mobility. However, traffic on roads is saturating and - in particular on short and medium distances - a similar situation exists for air travel. ii) Modes with additional potential like railways can only expand their position on transport service if they become more ,,attractive, i.e. offer significant advantages, economically, on time, on safety and comfort. (At present the most critical factors are costs, in particular for track and infrastructure and travel time in particular for freight transport.) iii) Tendencies to higher speeds and lower travel times, combined with safety and comfort requirements and more stringent conditions on fuel consumption and environmental impacts, require large advances in system technology. For example rigorous lightweight constructions lead new transportation systems into regimes of operation with unforeseen phenomena and effects (vibrations, aeroacoustic and aerodynamic effects, aeroelasticity, dynamic instabilities etc.). iv) The past design process, in which small steps of

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improvements are made with many ,,trial and error experiments, field tests and prototypes, can not be maintained. New requests are ,,right-firsttime, drastically reducing the &me-to-market avoiding long and costly test series with prototypes. This leads more and more to developing and designing new systems by computer, i.e. the extensive use of the possibilities of CAE such as modeiling and simulation (Gissinger and KortUm, 1997). VI A modem product development and design team must therefore be capable of making design choices from the entire range of presently available technologies. At the forefront of these is - almost by its definition - MECHATRONICS, mainly because of its basic principles of making maximum use of synergies by simultaneous or concurrent engineering: Mechatronic systems can be built with higher performance, lighter (by avoiding heavy mechanical constructions), safer (by introducing ,,fail-safe principles) and may even be cheaper. vi) Last but not least, we can observe many technological developments being tran.yferred from aerospace to ground transportation: lighter through new materials (ranging from composite materials through to smart materials which adapt their prop erties to changing environments), improved aerodynamics leading to better performance, lower resistance and less aerodynamic noise, and in particular electronic control and navigation (fly-bywire). The aerospace industry has made use of mechatronic and concurrent engineering principles (often without even using the term!) very successfully in connection with the newest CAEICAD methods. This culminated in Boeings ,,Paperless Jet, (Breuhaus, 1996), (Shokralla), in which the B777 was designed completely ,,digitally, i.e. by computer, avoiding all paper drawings as well as costly mock-ups. In summary, Mechatronics for ground transportation is a natural consequence not only as a result of individual transportation system developments providing demonstrated advantages, but also from the pioneering approach of aerospace technology.

which are common to both industrial sectors. 3. I Automotive

The automotive market is one in which the cost of components and systems is extremely important. Manufacturers are very reluctant to add even the cheapest of new systems unless the cost/benefit ratio is very low. This is one reason why there were few mechatronic systems added to automobiles during the 1960s and 1970s. The price of sensors, actuators and computers were high and their reliability was low. There were of course exceptions, fuel injection sytems started to replace carburated-systems in the 1970s, ABS ( anti-skid devices ) became commonplace in the 80s and 90s. In the late 1980s the electronic revolution saw the rapid increase in smart electromechanical devices due to the micro-processor technology explosion. In addition to the dramatic reduction in the cost of computational power there also occurred a revolution in the sensor area which is just now starting to explode, that is the area of MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical Systems ), i.e, sensors on chips. Currently the prices of accelerometers, yaw rate sensors, pressure and temperature sensors , rpm sensors and many others are starting to fall as microfabrication technology develops. The remaining revolution that needs to occur before truly mechatronic systems dominate the automobile is in the actuator area. Actuators are currently the most expensive, heaviest and least reliable components of many mechatronic systems. Some advances have been made in this area, e.g. micromechanical motors but nearly not to the extent of the logic and sensor area. The next few sections will review the development of important subsystems, see Fig. 3.
rear wheel st

differential

camber control ABS and traction conlrol \ active steering

3. CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-ART There have been a number of developments of a mechatronic nature in the whole area of ground transportation. Whilst these may not have been truly mechatronic in the sense which was expounded in the introduction, they are of great importance for tracing the incursion of electronic controls into previously purely mechanical systems, and for extrapolating into the future. For this reason the states-of-the-art in both automotive and railway industries are summarised separately in the following two sub-sections, with a final sub-section to bring out the themes and trends

Pitch control tyre pressure control

Fig. 3: Various Chassis Control Concepts Active Suspensions The field of active suspensions is certainly an ideal area for the mechatronic approach to have a major impact. They have been considered by many automotive manufiicturem since the 1960%and have seen limited application in race car driving and recently in production passenger vehicles. They offer clear performance advantages in both ride quality (vibmtion isolation) and in handling (load distribution). The advantages in riding quality improvement comes

about largely due to the introduction of absolute damping , i.e. suspension forces proportional to the vertical velocity of the sprung mass rather than proportional to the relative velocity between the sprung and unsprung mass as in conventional dampers. The major benefit is in the 1 Hz area. The future for active suspensions in the American market is not seen very optimistically at present since American cars are relatively heavy and provide a comfortable, soft suspension. The prospects in the European and Japanese markets are much better due to much lighter vehicles and a higher emphasis on handling than in the American market. The benefits to handling come about due to the ability of active suspensions to act like an active roll bar, i.e, it can distribute the centripetal load transfer more to the non-tractive wheels. The high price of active suspension actuators (principally hydraulic spool valves and cylinders) is still a major factor in their limited use. Tracfiun Cunfrd Several manufacturers have introduced electronic traction control on passenger vehicles. A wide variety of techniques have been developed basically to reduce the u-active forces to the slipping wheel including engine control, e.g. spark retardation, controllable differentials and brake application. This area will see increased development in the next few years. Yaw Moment Control Yaw moment control systems are designed to detect impending loss of vehicle stability and to apply stabilizing moments. Control of the vehicle is immediateley returned to the driver. Most current systems utilize differential brake control to apply the yaw moment and employ yaw rate gyros as the primary sensors. Integrated Chassis Control There are currently many electronic control systems on passenger automobiles. Today they operate independently using different sensors, actuators and logic devices. Automotive manufacturers are currently developing integrated chassis control systems that consider vehicle control from a unified perspective and coordinate the control from a systems point of view, e.g. individual sensors are being utilized for several different purposes. The systems approach also improves the fault detection/fault management situation by utilizing redundant sensors and actuators where possible. 3.2 Railways

pensions, although some comments have also been in_ eluded about the mechatronic state-of-the-art of the other areas. The first 125 years of railway suspension development were characterised by a largely empirical ap_ preach to suspension design. The bogie had been invented and patented in 1809, but it took some 40 years to become regularly used in Europe after the beginning of public railways, although it was adopted rather more quickly in the United States. This ,,Empirical Design Period extended throughout the first half of the 20th century, and some very successful suspension systems were empirically designed. This is not suggesting there were no calculations carried out in the design, rather that the parameters which determined the suspensions fundamental performance in terms of stability, curving, and ride quality were derived from experience and experiment. In the 1960s the science of vehicle dynamics came properly of age, and what can be thought of as the ,,Analyticai Design Period began. Although some of the analytical ingredients had been known since the early 1900s, it was not until the 1960s that all the bits and pieces were put together and effective analysis became possible. At the same time computers became available to analyse and predict the performance of complete railway vehicles, which are still one of the most complex dynamic systems in engineering and without computer analysis would remain intractable to analyse. There had of course been a number of fascinating, ingenious and highly intuitive designs prior to this time, but it is notable that the new understanding has enabled much higher operating speeds than had previously been thought possible, and has released design innovations which are based upon a fundamental re-think of suspension design - cross-bracing, steering bogies, single axle bogies, etc. The arrival of active suspensions has heralded the ,,Mechatronic Design Period, although as observed earlier there is still a long way to go in terms of fulfilling its promise. It is worth remarking that there have been a large number of theoretical studies, but the emphasis in this survey is upon practical implementations. Section 4 of the paper will deal with future possibilities and will include some ideas which so far have only been explored theoretically, but which might point the way to the future. The survey covers three general areas: tilting trains for increased speed through curves, active secondary SWpensions for improvement in ride quality, and active primary suspensions to improve guidance or steering. Tilting trains Tilt is increasingly becoming accepted as standard equipment for speeding up trains. and a number of European countries have developed tilting trains: Italy with the Pendolino concept, Sweden with

The main systems on a railway vehicle for which a mechatronic approach is appropriate are the suspension. traction and braking systems. Of these, the suspension system is of the greatest interest, partly because traditionally it has been wholly mechanical, but also because it is more fundamental to the complete vehicle design than either of the other two. The main emphasis will therefore be upon the use of active control in sus-

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its X2000 trains, Spain with the Talgo, and more recently Germany with the VT 611 multiple units and Switzerland with a concept developed by SIG, (Various authors, 1997). Further afield Bombardier makes a tilting train in N. America, and there are a number of Japanese systems either in operation or at an experiment stage (Sasaki et al., 1996). Tilting essentially applies active control to the secondary roll suspension of a railway vehicle (i.e. from the bogie to the body), and there are a number of configurations which are possible (Goodall, 1996). Most use a pair of inclined swing links combined with hydraulic actuators to give rotation of the vehicle body about the desired tilt centre, Fig. 4. Early intuitively-derived control laws, based primarily upon acceleration measurements, proved not to give sufficient performance in practice, and modem tilt controllers take full advantage of digital processing and utilise additional devices such as gyroscopes and displacement sensors.

1997). However, there are also a number of successful examples of full scale experimental implementations (Goodall, 1997) One of the earliest major experimental study was undertaken by British Rail in the early 1980s. This covered both lateral and vertical secondary suspensions using a variety of actuator technologies, and was the first practical demonstration that significant improvements in ride quality could be achieved, of around 35% - 50% during mainline testing (Pollard and Simons, 1983). A recent development is by ABB in the UK, what they call their ,,active hold-off device. This is designed to improve ride quality simply by holding the suspension away from the lateral bump stop on curves, which avoids the high transient accelerations due to contact with the bump stops. The system has been tested comprehensively, and is currently being evaluated on a service vehicle (Allen, 1994). ABB in Sweden is looking at a different concept - a ,,semi-active electronically-controlled lateral damper for use on their X2000 tilting train. Other people have studied the use of semi-active devices, but they have usually modified a normal hydraulic damper whereas the ABB approach is very novel (and patented) (Roth and Lizell, 1995). Essentially it is a displacement pump driven by the movements of the actuator, and braked by a miniature electronically-controlled brake, an arrangement which seems to achieve a wide range of linear operation, and is another example of an innovative inter-disciplinary approach. GEC-Alsthom has also looked at semi-active systems in laboratory tests (ONeil and Wale, 1992), including the assessment of devices using electro-rheological fluids, the characteristics of which are directly affected by the application of an electrical voltage. The Japanese are also studying active suspensions. Hydraulic and pneumatic actuators have been tested on their WIN350 train which is being used for research and development aimed at achieving 350 km/h operation for the Shin Kansen trains (Sakurai et al., 1996). There seems to be a lot of active suspension work, much of which appears to be closely related. They have a 3 car ,,Try-z test train for evaluating 3 different active suspension concepts for conventional trains (i.e. not only for the Shin Kansen) (Sasaki et al., 19%). A very significant development is being conducted by Siemens SOP in Austria. At present this is an experimental development, but it will form the basis for the companys new ,,Comfort bogie. They have semi-active secondary vertical dampers, fully-active pneumatic actuators to keep the lateral suspension centmd on curves, and electro-mechanical tilt actuators (mentioned before in connection with trends in tiiting trains). They have taken a strong systems approach, see Fig. 5. What is particularly interesting about this

Ptndulum

Fig. 4: Active Tilting of a Railway Vehicle A recent trend is interesting. Although the natural choice of actuation for mechanical engineers is hydraulic, it is now being recognised that electro-mechanical actuators which take advantage of cheap, efficient and compact power electronic devices have a number of benefits to offer. The viability was first demonstrated in the UK in the late 1970s (Pennington and Pollard, 1983), and has more recently been adopted by at least three European manufacturers and is significant from the mechatronic point of view because it is an indication of engineers starting to undertake design in an inter-disciplinary manner. ActiveSeconday Suspensions The successful operation of tilting trains has now established a precedent for active control within the suspensions of railway vehicles, and has stimulated increased interest in the more general application of active suspensions. The only active suspension which has been running regularly in service for a number of years (apart from tilt) is a low grade active lateral suspension using pneumatic actuators on the Fiat Pendolino trains, but more recently a semi-active suspension has been fitted to the new 500 Series Shin Kansen trains in Japan (Norinao,

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development is the way the control systems have been integrated, and this almost certainly represents the most advanced mechatronic implementation which is currently available (Stribersky et al., 1997), (Stribersky et al., 1995).

scribed earlier, but it is nevertheless significant. This is the single-axle bogie for the Danish S-Tog trains, which uses hydraulic steering of the axles. What is particularly interesting is that it is an articulated arrangement having only one wheelset per vehicle (two on one of the end vehicles, of course). It is indicative of the way things could go, because without the conventional bogies it is very lightweight. Traction and Braking Electric traction systems have been common in railways for many years, and the addition of electronics and control has mainly been associated with exploitation of power electronic drives. Probably the main consequence of this has been the ability to replace d.c. motors with smaller and more efficient a.c. motors. In general this has resulted in an easing of the mechanical design, rather than the kind of fundamental change which follows from mechatronic integration, although there have been cases of vehicles for low speed systems in which hub motors have been directly connected to the wheels, thereby removing the need for a gearbox and/or mechanical drive and creating substantial simplifications in bogie design. The other significant impact is that the traction system has been able increasingly to provide braking effort through electrical regenerative action, although the net effect upon the main mechanical braking system has usually been relatively small. Advanced control can provide a much more effective use of the adhesion which is available at the wheel/rail interface, and there are examples of theoretical and experimental studies which demonstrate the ability through the sophisticated power control to operate at the peak of the adhesion/slip characteristic, (Beck, Engel, 1996), (Paterson et al., 1996). Wheelslide protection of railway braking systems has been fitted for many years, but the pneumatic brake actuators which are predominant in the industry are insufficiently fast to do other than provide fairly simple on-off control when wheelslide is detected. A number of braking system manufacturers are however investigating more advanced braking actuators (e.g. electro-mechanical systems), at least in part because of the enhanced control capability which these will provide, and in many senses these developments reflect the changes away from traditional mechanical engineering solutions which have also been seen with the suspension systems. 3.3 Common Trends A few trends can be observed which are common to all kinds of transportation systems whether air, rail or road: i) For saving of energy and material the trend towards rigorous application of the principles of lightweight constructions is applied. As a consequence new structural vibrations and system dynamics phenomena result which have been absent

:hmniccd .4cruoror

Fig. 5: Electronically Controlled Suspension System (from Stribersky et. al., 1995). Most of the serious experimental work at present is concerned with the lateral direction, because generally speaking that is the harder design problem. It is possible that once these have been proved in operation the deficiencies of the vertical suspensions may be highlighted, and this may prompt a spate of work on active vertical suspension. Active primary suspensions There is rather less to report about implementation of active primary suspensions, perhaps inevitably. There was some work in Germany in the early 1980s, and they produced a ,,creep-controlled wheelset which had an electromagnetic semi-active coupling between the wheels (Leo, 1985). There has been no apparent work on this idea for a number of years, but it remains a very interesting concept. Innovative concepts which made use of passive, semiactive and active influence of a special wheelsets relative rotation in order to gain excellent stability and considerable reduction of wear are currently tested with a 1:5-scaled vehicle on the DLR roller rig (Jaschinski et al. 1995). Another more recent development is for a Rotterdam tram, in which the axles are steered under electronic control on the basis of body measurements to create radial alignment on curves, and enables extremely tight curves to be negotiated effectively (Hondius, 1995). There has been a further experimental study in Gennany in which a single-axle running gear with independent wheels is steered by controlling the differential torque between the two wheels (Anon, 1997). Another important development is not active in the sense de-

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previously. The trend to high speeds (lower travel time) - in connection with lightweight construction - has posed new problems of surg and comfort as well as environmental interactions (aerodynamics, aeroacoustics) at an order of magnitude more complex than experienced so far. iii) The invasion of electronics into formerly purely mechanical systems led from actively controlled components to mechatronic systems, which not only introduced new disciplines into the vehicle design but brought a complete new dimension of systems thinking into play. iv) Somewhat superimposed upon these developments are the advances in information and communication technology (Linsemeier, 1995); a complete new technology wave, often called the ,,5th KondratiefP, (Niefiodow, 1991), is on the way. Simultaneous advances in computer hardware and software performance are ,,enablers for concurrent engineering by integrated communication structures, data handling and software standards reaching from product specitications to quality assurance, Fig. 6, see (KortUm, 1995). ii)

chatronic approach in order to be successful. Surface transportation is a large, important but lagging sector of the industrialized world economy. In the US private automobile transportation accounts for between 15 and 20 percent (Varaiya, 1993) of the GNP (gross national product). Air pollution and accidents cost an additional $200 - $300 billion in damage. Traffic congestion in California alone absorbs a half an hour of every persons day and wastes 20 million gallons of fuel. In many places around the world the increase in travel demand is substantial but the performance of our road transport systems are becoming increasingly unpredictable the cost of maintenance is increasing. The infrastructure that earlier created economic growth and integration is deteriorating and a major expansion is politically and economically infeasible. There has been a worldwide response to this dilemma, it has been given a variety of names including IVHS (Intelligent Vehicle/Highway Systems), and ITS (Intelligent Transportation System). ITS is the combination of information technology with transportation systems. Information technology includes new sensors, data processing, communication and actuators. The first appearance of this technology will be in driver information and driver warning systems such as obstacle detection sensors, vehicle proximity sensors, lane departure sensors and vision enhancement sensors such as infrared devices. The next level of technology is in ,,driver assistance systems. Of course anti-skid brakes (ABS) have been commercially available for many years. Several new products are currently being introduced into the US, European and Japanese markets, these include active traction control, active yaw moment control and ,,adaptive cruise control. The preceding systems are examples of ,,Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS) (Shladover, 1995) and refer to the increasing class of ITS technology that provide the driver with safety warnings or assistance in controlling the vehicle. AVCS is a component of a larger class of ITS that includes ATMIS (Advanced Traffic Management Systems) and AVCS as functions that must be implemented in less than 1 second. In Europe, AVCS systems have been investigated and developed under the PROMETHEUS program. Several system level concepts have been investigated under PROMETHEUS such as: Adaptive Cruise Control, systems that maintain desirable longitudinal spacings between vehicles, Intelligent Manoeuvring Control, systems that complete automated lane changes, Emergency Warning Systems and Medium Range Preinformation systems (MRP), that give the driver information of downstream congestion. Similar research programs have been performed or are underway in the US and Japan. It is clear that ITS and in particular AVCS systems can

Opmtions planning

l Roductia planning, Numetial Control prqlnmming l Production clmtld

Fig. 6: The Concept of Concurrent Engineering 4. TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE 4. I Road Transport

Future road transportation (including bus, commercial and private automobile) systems must apply the ,,me-

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provide improved capacity, safety and air quality. However, in order to obtain a significant improvement it is critical the AVCS devices are not simply ,,add ons. They must be incorporated in a systematic manner. One approach to a systematic use of AVCS technology is the Automated Highway System (AHS). A consortia of industry, university and government institutions in the US called the NAHSC (National Automated Highway System Consortia) is currently studying all aspects of AHS. AHS requires roadway and vehicle enhancements that must be incorporated in ATMIS and ADIS technologies. The AHS will take advantage of: . vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-roadway communications, . roadway-vehicle lane sensors, . vehicle-vehicle proximity sensors, . obstacle detection and avoidance systems, . fault detection and management systems, high bandwidth throttle/brake/steering actuators.

A third generation of systems offering a further increase in functionality, probably highly integrated with other vehicle dynamic systems such as traction and braking, and using information from facilities such as track profile databases, satellite positioning system etc. For secondary suspensions it is likely that the use of active control will follow the progression suggested above, beginning with a properly designed integration of the tilt and lateral suspension functions, probably within the next five years. Mechatronics also offer a number of important design opportunities. For example it is useful to think about the whole issue of vehicle design, and consider what enhancements are possible if active control is assumed from the outset. There is a continued push towards lighter vehicle bodies, which brings a number of suspension difficulties. Obviously there are constraints such as crashworthiness, but another problem with light bodies is flexibility. Most vehicle designers work to a minimum body bending frequency of around 8 Hz to avoid vibration problems, particularly since lower frequencies start to coincide with dynamic modes of the bogie. However, if the secondary suspension is active, it is in principle possible to control the body resonance and therefore permit lower frequencies and lighter bodies (Hat et al., 1996). For primary suspensions the main engineering tradeoff is between curving and stability, and a well established option is to use mechanical linkages to provide radial alignment of the wheelsets on a steady curve. The limitations of the approach are threefold: firstly, the alignment and maintenance of the mechanism is a problem, in addition to which its components must be fairly heavy so they are stiff enough to ensure stability. Secondly, radial alignment alone is not sufftcient to give perfect curving, because the wheelsets must also have a small angle of attack to provide cant deficiency forces. And thirdly, whilst it is correct on a steady curve, what happens on the transition to the curve is quite complex, and so good curving is not assured at curve entry and exit. An obvious use of active control is to replace the linkage by an actuator, driven by an electronic controller. A sensor measuring the rotation between the bogie and the body can then be used to drive the actuator and replace the mechanical steering linkage. The electronic implementation means that the control of the two bogies under a vehicle can readily be linked, and this helps with the response at curve entry and exit. A further development is to steer the wheelsets not by measuring the bogie rotation but rather the lateral displacement of the wheelsets with respect to the track. Another approach is to use active relaxation of the wheelset yaw suspension, in which the length of

The AHS is a perfect example for the need of a ,,mechatronic approach to ground transportation. An ,,add on approach will never work for such a complex system. The system must be designed from the top down in order for it to work at all. The United States Department of Transportation has recently decided that an automated highway system is too long term a research project to be supported at the NAHSCs current level. The consortia is therefore being terminated and a new initiative called IV1 (Intelligent Vehicle Initiative) is currently being planned. The IV1 programm will concentrate on short term safety products such as collision warning and avoidance systems, VDC systems (Vehicle Dynamic Control), side looking radar and many other intelligent devices that can assist the driver and increase the safety of highway transportation. A crucial component of the US IV1 initiative is the man/machine interface and human factors research in general. The National Driving Simulator Laboratory being developed at the University of Iowa will become an important testing facility for automotive human factors research. 4.2 Railway

The developments described in Section 3 are what might be called ,,tirst generation systems, having limited functionality with restricted control laws, usually applied locally to the actuators. It is however possible to envisage subsequent generations for which the mechatronic opportunities (and challenges) will be much greater: A second generation of systems with a higher degree of functionality (e.g. lateral and vertical), integrated measurement systems for higher reliability and faulttolerance, and control laws which take a more complete view of the vehicle or train system.

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the longitudinal linkages between the bogie frame and the axle boxes is adjusted in order to reduce to zero the yaw torque applied to the wheelset at low frequencies, and this has proved to be very effective (Shen and Goodall, 1997). However, the real problem with solid axles is that, even with all this clever control, the minimum curve radius which can be successfully negotiated is still restricted by the degree of coning of the wheels before flange contact is reached. The next step is logical, but radical. Remove the axles, allow the wheels to rotate independently, and steer them, for example on the basis of the tracking error between the wheels and track. The wheels need no longer be coned of course. There are clearly a number of profound practical consequences of this approach , but it shows some of the possible advantages when a real mechatronic approach is applied to the primary suspension. The importance is that with actively-steered independent wheels a bogie is no longer necessary, which can bring about radical changes in vehicle design leading to large reductions in weight and much lower floor height. As mechatronic trains develop more and more electronics will appear within railway vehicles, and more profound integration of the various systems is possible. The propulsion system already has a lot of electronics, and this can be linked in with active steering. It is possible to avoid having to fit a steering actuator to a pair of independent wheels if the traction motors on the wheels are differentially controlled to achieve the steering action (Powell and Wickens, 1995). Obviously this needs a serious level of integration between the suspension and drive control systems, particularly to accommodate the requirements of safety critically. So it is possible to look forward to a full implementation of mechatronic principles for the design of running gear, using single wheels in which electronics is applied to an integrated control system, controlling traction, braking and suspension forces in an optimal way. Fig. 7 illustrates the features of the intelligent wheel (Wickens and Goodall, 1993).

This concept, in particular the use of active steering, is potentially liberating from the operational viewpoint, because in principle it is possible to switch tracks from the vehicle rather than the track. Conventional track switches could disappear such that the track is continuous in both directions, with the vehicle sensors following one route or the other. This requires the removal of the flanges on conventional railway wheels (and probably the provision of an alternative form of safety limit) and leads to a major shift in train control concepts. The above comments have primarily been addressed towards mechatronic developments in conventional railway vehicles, but it is also useful to reflect upon Maglev as an alternative technology for guided ground transportation (Fastham, 1995). In high speed Maglev vehicles the suspension, guidance, propulsion and braking functions are all provided directly through electro-magnetic forces, and their integration is implicit in the concept (Wickens and Goodall, 1993). This makes an interesting comparison with todays railway vehicles: all the various functions are finally provided by the contact and creep forces acting at the wheeVrail interface, but the mechanical arrangement of the conventional running gear essentially provides decoupling of these functions. If the longer term trends which were identified in the previous paragraphs are realised, the mechatronic design engineers of the future will be progressively taking away the mechanical decoupling which was put in place by the empirical design engineers of the past! This then may provide Maglev technology a ,,second chance, perhaps not for the high speed range and for substituting the evolutionary developing railway network but for new point-to-point connections and corridors where ,,it does not come too late and where it can offer system (narrow curves, steeper grades) and economic advantages over an advanced railway system. 5. CONCLUSIONS It is clear that Mechatronics has a large part to play in the way in which ground transportation will develop, both in terms of the technology of the vehicles and the manner in which they will operate in the future. The precedent for significant electronic systems within road and rail vehicles is now well established, but the challenges and opportunities of a fully mechatronic approach remain. The aircraft industry has already made that transition, with the electronic controls now being a fundamental part of the way in which the aircraft are designed, but the economic factors are quite different. Cost is pre-eminent in ground transportation, particularly automobiles, and the issue of Reliability, Availability, Maintenance and Safety (RAMS) is a much more acute problem compared with aircraft.

Fig. 7: Intelligent Wheel Concept

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Certainly the requirements for safety are very similar, but striking a balance so that the maintenance cost needed to achieve safe operation with acceptably low levels of reliability and high levels of availability, without leading to an unacceptable increase in capital and operating costs, is problematic. This can only be achieved through the fully concurrent approach to systems design which lies at the heart of mechatronics. Mechatronics provides a fundamental basis for a top down process, i.e. given a transportation task, the goals, specifications, regulations etc., what is then the optimal technology? With the evolving mechatronic software it will be possible to develop new systems to a high degree ,,in the computer before hardware is built and tested in order to make decisions on the best alternatives (soft-prototyping of the ,,virtual car, the ,,virtual train etc.). It is interesting that in many senses the leading edge of the primary competing modes of ground transport road and rail - are perhaps evolving in a technological sense towards the same concept, i.e. automated guided vehicles linked longitudinally in trains to give both a sharing of command, control and communication resources, and a considerable increase in passenger-carrying capacity. Automobiles will still essentially be autonomous (perhaps unguided) vehicles, but linking them together to form convoys on the major trunk routes would almost inevitably be achieved electronically; trains are currently linked mechanically, but if the intelligent wheel ideas portrayed in the previous section progressively becomes a reality electronic couplers are a relatively simple step, meaning that all the vehicles in the train in principle are no longer constrained to the same destination. However, the development of systems such as these assume that everyone will possess or use their own personal vehicle. This is already becoming untenable in cities and towns and what is likely to happen is the continued development of diversity in transport systems, so that solutions are available which suit local circumstances. In areas with a high level of human activity guided modes of transport with common use of vehicles are likely to find application. The transport systems of the future are likely to be achieved by evolutionary development, but increasingly there will be a convergence of road and rail technology based on the common core of computing power, communications and artificial intelligence. If railway and road technology progresses in the direction indicated the convergence between their technologies will greatly assist the more rapid application of these developments. Moreover, the more the software content increases and the hardware becomes simpler, the more portable will be the leading edge develop-

ments between rail and road. The authors of the paper in general demand a much more rapid ,,technology transfer from and to other applications such as aerospace or robotics with the general trend of including new developments such as adaptronics, i.e. using smart materials, rheological fluids etc. (Linsmeier, 1995). However, in order to accelerate these trends industry must be more ,,keen on experimenting (like the Japanese) and the regulations, which often paralyse new developments, must be open to changes if e.g. safety requirements can be assured. 6. REFERENCES Anon (1994). Multidisciplinary design optimisation the year in review , Aerospace America. Anon (1997). Single-axle running gear - dosaged torque, BahnTech 3197, Research and Technology Report of DB AG, pp IO-I I Allen, D.H. (1994). Active bumpstop hold-off device, Proc. Railtech 94, IMechEPaper C478/5/0 13, Birmingham UK. Beck, H.-P. and B. Engel (1996). Traction drive control with PI state controller and Kalman Jilter ,first experimental results, Proc. 13th IFAC Congress, Vol P, pp 343 - 8, San Francisco. Breuhaus, R.S.( 1996). Innovative Aspects of the Boeing 777 Development Program, Proc. ICAS , ICAS96-0.4, Vol. 1. Comerford, R. (I 994). ,,Mecha ... what?, IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 46-9. Craig, K.C. and F.R. Stolf (1994). Introduction to Mechatronic System Design with Applications, Course Book, IEEE. ISBN o-7803-2234-7 Eastham, A.R. (1995). High Speed Rail: Another Golden Age?, Scientific American, Vol273, No 3, pp 74-5, Sept. 1995. Electra Mechanical Brake System Actuator Type EBC, SAB Wabco, 1993. Gissinger, G., W. Kortlim (1997). Simulation of Vehicle System Dynamics, State of the Art and Ongoing Developments, IFAC Transportation System 97, Greece. Goodall, R.M, et al. (1981). Railway Vehicle Active Suspensions in Theory and Practice. Proc. 7th IAVSD Symp, pp.301 - 3 16, Cambridge, UK. Goodall, R.M., W. Kortllm (1983). Active Control in Ground Transportation - A Review of the State-ofthe Art and Future Potential. Vehicle System Dynamics, Vol 12, pp. 225 - 257. Goodall, R.M., W. KortUm (1990). Active Suspensions for Railway Vehicles - an Avoidable Luxury or Inevitable Consequence? in : Proc. I 1th IFAC World Congress, Tallin, pp. 219 - 225. Goodall, R.M., W. Korttim (1991). RailroadSystems: Active Contro, I in: Concise Encyclopedia of Traf$c and Transportation Systems, M. Papageorgiou

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