Ford Is Learning Tesla’s Steer-By-Wire Tricks

CarBuzz has discovered a pair of new patents filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, in which Ford details its designs for brake-by-wire and steer-by-wire technology. These innovations are not entirely new and have been explored throughout the transportation industry, but what will make them different once these technologies become mainstream in cars will be how they provide feedback. Neither patent makes for light reading, but we’re not going to outline everything about either design. What matters is that the physical connection between a driver and the vehicle’s mechanical elements is being eliminated, and once this is perfected, possibilities for several other technologies become realistic. We’ll get to those in a moment, but let’s examine the patents first.

Remote Steering And Braking

In a nutshell, the steer-by-wire system imagines using various speed and yaw sensors, as well as steering angle sensors (one of which could be as rudimentary as a camera aimed at the steering wheel) to determine how much effort and resistance the steering wheel should provide. This would be calculated using numerous data points, including the drive mode, the road conditions, and the torque being experienced by the actuators on the axle. Along with a toothed rack to measure this torque, Ford may be able to make the steering action feel as natural as in hydraulically-assisted steering systems.

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The brake-by-wire patent is even more focused on algorithms and math than the steering one, but the gist of it is the same – natural and progressive feel that does not give the user an impression of detachedness but connection. In conjunction with a steer-by-wire system, the car could accurately communicate understeer and the activation of anti-lock brakes to the steering wheel and brake pedal, respectively. All of this sounds great, but you can be certain that countless hours of testing still need to be carried out before Ford can call this a triumph. But when it does…

Numerous Potential Benefits

If these two patents prove viable, Ford will be able to further pursue other, more exciting ideas. The most obvious relates to self-driving cars, with ideas for moving steering wheels and driver seats the most common. We’ve also seen Ford patent a one-size-fits-all modular chassis, and something like that could be easier to achieve with electronic steering and braking architecture. More space in the front end of the car could also enable things like a cinema in the trunk, or a bigger refrigerated area. With a handbook on 48-volt technology provided by Tesla, Ford looks poised to introduce at least one of the technologies seen in the Cybertruck. When that will happen remains to be seen.

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