Drive-by-wire: The next step for the auto industry

Weekly Corporate Growth Report, Jan 22, 2001 by Rock, Justin

Cars with joysticks instead of steering wheels? The airline industry has been using the technology for years. Now the computer systems that were designed to guide vehicles through the air, are moving into our cars.

The German companies, Bayerishe Motoren Werke AG and DaimlerChrysler AG have taken the lead in developing the first drastic change in how motor vehicles are controlled. They are conducting experiments with drive-- by-wire technology, replacing much of the mechanical linkage that controls the car with nothing more than a thin wire. Rather than turning the steering wheel to manipulate the wheels, the driver jockeys a pair of joysticks that transmits an electrical signal to a computer, which tells the wheels what to do.

BMW has already let journalists try out a couple of test vehicles equipped with drive-by-wire controls at a track near the Munich airport. These particular vehicles still have steering wheels, but the technology creates a car that handles like no other. The driver hardly has to move the steering wheel on a slalom course at 50 miles an hour. Hand-over-hand steering, even during parallel-parking maneuvers, are unnecessary in these vehicles. The computer calculates how much pressure the driver puts on the wheel and the speed of the car, and almost seems to take control.

"Over the last 100 years, only the steering wheel and the four tires have remained constant," said Ulrich Hipp, the leader of a team of DaimlerChrysler engineers working with drive-by-wire. "People are going to have to change their driving habits."

The technology does pose a threat to some auto makers that have built their reputation on their product's personalities. Companies like BMW, which produces cars known for high performance and handling, fear that computer companies will move into the auto business, relegating auto makers to mere assemblers and marketers.

But for now, most car producers are excited about this new technology and are putting much effort into its development. The first examples of drive-by-wire vehicles are expected to be completed and up for sale by BMW and Mercedes-Benz models within five or six years.

The technology is already here, it's just a matter of making it safe. There is no room for computer failure on the freeways. Currently, no drive-by-wire car is even allowed off the test track.

The potential of drive-by-wire technology is exceedingly apparent to a driver getting back into a standard car after spending even just 20 minutes in a wire-operated vehicle. At the BMW test track, technicians made the journalists get behind the wheel of a BMW 3 -Series after their test with the new technology. Every driver had to make a quick correction to keep the car from swinging too wide through the first turn.

An idea that auto makers are trying is making the operation of a drive-by-wire car feel like that of a mechanical one. Drivers rely on feedback from their control mechanisms to know how the car is performing. This problem is particularly sensitive to high performance vehicle producers such as BMW, which attach considerable stake in producing cars that are responsive and fun to drive. But BMW claims that computer controlled steering can provide just as much feel for the road as mechanical ones.

"In critical driving maneuvers, drive-by-wire will improve driving safety by giving quicker responses by coordinating braking and steering," says Markus Krug of BMW Technik GmbH, a development arm of BMW.

At DaimlerChrysler, drive-by-wire technology will help make the interior of the car safer. The company's test car is a modified Mercedes-Benz SL 500, equipped with two joysticks. One for acceleration and braking and the other for steering. With the absence of a steering wheel, the vehicle is dramatically safer for the driver.

Mercedes research has shown that joysticks enable drivers to react more quickly to emergency situations than they can with a traditional steering wheel. The reaction time for someone to pull back on the joystick is much faster than taking your foot off of the gas and slamming on the breaks.

Since, at least in luxury cars, electronics make up nearly one-third of a car's value, the concern over some computer companies stepping into the auto industry is quite valid.

To stay ahead, car companies

that are developing drive-by-wire technology are being forced to write much of their software in-house. They want to be in the leading position, not allowing computer companies to take over their lucrative industry.