Musculoskeletal Driver Model for the Steering Feedback Controller

Journal article, 2021

This paper aims to find a mathematical justification for the non-linear steady state steering haptic response as a function of driver arm posture. Experiments show that different arm postures, that is, same hands location on the steering wheel but at different initial steering angles, result in a change in maximum driver arm stiffness. This implies the need for different steering torque response as a function of steering angle, which is under investigation. A quasi-static musculoskeletal driver model considering elbow and shoulder joints is developed for posture analysis. The torque acting in the shoulder joint is higher than in the elbow. The relationship between the joint torque and joint angle is linear in the shoulder, whereas the non-linearity occurs in the elbow joint. The simulation results qualitatively indicate a similar pattern as compared to the experimental muscle activity results. Due to increasing muscle non-linearity at high steering angles, the arm stiffness decreases and then the hypothesis suggests that the effective steering stiffness is intentionally reduced for a consistent on-center haptic response.