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Mechatronics Technology and Its Application in Intelligent Transportation

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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Intelligent Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 13625

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Anton Rassõlkin

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical Power Engineering and Mechatronics, Tallinn University of Technology, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
Interests: electrical drives; mechatronics; electric vehicles; electrical machines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The world population is already approaching eight billion people, and the number of vehicles in operation has surpassed one billion units. According to OICA (International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers) statistics, almost one hundred million vehicles are produced yearly, and the number is increasing. With further globalization, industrialization, and urbanization, the trend of the fast growth of the mobility industry is one of the main challenges of the 21st century.

Mechatronics is defined as the combination of mechanical, electrical, and electronic engineering with computational power. The design of any mechatronic system is a multidisciplinary activity and is performed to attain product-related advantages, which cannot be obtained by monodisciplinary efforts. Along with the benefits from having several engineering disciplines involved in the design activity, the application of mechatronics technology may be a key factor in intelligent transportation development.

This Special Issue is addressed to all types of mechatronics technology for the transportation industry.

Prof. Dr. Anton Rassõlkin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

mechatronics
autonomous vehicles
digital twins
sensors

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 2192 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Computation of the Characteristic Parameters of Coaxial Waveguides Used in Precision Sensors

by Krzysztof Kubiczek

Sensors 2023, 23(4), 2324; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23042324 - 20 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1428

Abstract

This paper presents a fast and computationally stable analytical algorithm used to perform the characteristic impedance of cylindrical multilayer waveguides used in high-precision sensors and apparatuses. Most of the algorithms used for the calculation of the characteristic impedance of those waveguides are based on approximations. Their application is limited to waveguides with a certain (usually small) number of layers. There may be insufficient layers, especially when coaxial waveguides are part of a precise measurement device. This article presents a numerically stable analytical algorithm using modified scaled Bessel functions to perform the characteristic impedance and the components of cylindrical coaxial multilayer waveguides. The results achieved by the extracted algorithm were compared to the results obtained by simulation using finite element method (FEM) software and the current method, whose main drawback is the fictive sublayers, which significantly increase the computation time. The excellent agreement between the results confirmed the precision of the algorithm and the time required for the calculation was reduced several times. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechatronics Technology and Its Application in Intelligent Transportation)

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18 pages, 2032 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low-Cost Data Acquisition System for Automotive Electronic Control Units

by João Paulo Bedretchuk, Sergio Arribas García, Thiago Nogiri Igarashi, Rafael Canal, Anderson Wedderhoff Spengler and Giovani Gracioli

Sensors 2023, 23(4), 2319; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23042319 - 19 Feb 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3165

Abstract

The vehicle testing–validation phase is a crucial and demanding task in the automotive development process for vehicle manufacturers. It ensures the correct operation, safety, and efficiency of the vehicle. To meet this demand, some commercial solutions are available on the market, but they are usually expensive, have few connectivity options, and are PC-dependent. This paper presents an IoT-based intelligent low-cost system for vehicle data acquisition during on-road tests as an alternative solution. The system integrates low-cost acquisition hardware with an IoT server, collecting and transmitting data in near real-time, while artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms process the information and report errors and/or failures to the manufacturing engineers. The proposed solution was compared with other commercial systems in terms of features, performance, and cost. The results indicate that the proposed system delivers similar performance in terms of the data acquisition rate, but at a lower cost (up to 13 times cheaper) and with more advanced features, such as near real-time intelligent data processing and reduced time to find and correct errors or failures in the vehicle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechatronics Technology and Its Application in Intelligent Transportation)

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13 pages, 3976 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Concept and Implementation of Measurement Systems for Stationary and Remote Testing of Sensors for Electrical and Non-Electrical Quantities

by Leszek Furmankiewicz, Mirosław Kozioł, Ryszard Rybski and Robert Szulim

Sensors 2023, 23(4), 1928; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23041928 - 8 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1604

Abstract

In intelligent transportation, various types of sensors are used both in traffic control systems as well as in the control, safety, and entertainment systems of the vehicles themselves. In the process of educating future designers and developers of such systems, it is necessary to familiarize them with the operation and parameters of sensors. The recent years of the COVID-19 pandemic have disturbed this process due to the need to conduct classes remotely. This article presents the general concept of a laboratory stand for testing sensors of electrical and non-electrical quantities, which can be used both in stationary and remote learning. Additionally, the practical implementation of two laboratory stands for testing current and linear displacement sensors was also presented. Both stands have been tested in the remote access mode. The tests showed some shortcomings in the management software but also confirmed the correctness of the adopted concept of their implementation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechatronics Technology and Its Application in Intelligent Transportation)

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19 pages, 4426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vehicle Teleoperation: Human in the Loop Performance Comparison of Smith Predictor with Novel Successive Reference-Pose Tracking Approach

by Jai Prakash, Michele Vignati, Edoardo Sabbioni and Federico Cheli

Sensors 2022, 22(23), 9119; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22239119 - 24 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1908

Abstract

Vehicle teleoperation has the ability to bridge the gap between completely automated driving and manual driving by remotely monitoring and operating autonomous vehicles when their automation fails. Among many challenges related to vehicle teleoperation, the considered ones in this work are variable time delay, saturation of actuators installed in vehicle, and environmental disturbance, which together limit the teleoperation performance. State-of-the-art predictive techniques estimate vehicle states to compensate for the delays, but the predictive states do not account for sudden disturbances that the vehicle observes, which makes the human-picked steer inadequate. This inadequacy of steer deteriorates the path-tracking performance of vehicle teleoperation. In the proposed successive reference-pose-tracking (SRPT) approach, instead of transmitting steering commands, the reference trajectory, in the form of successive reference poses, is transmitted to the vehicle. This paper introduces a method of generation of successive reference poses with a joystick steering wheel and compares the human-in-loop path-tracking performance of the Smith predictor and SRPT approach. Human-in-loop experiments (with 18 different drivers) are conducted using a simulation environment that consists of the integration of a real-time 14-DOF Simulink vehicle model and Unity game engine in the presence of bidirectional variable delays. Scenarios for performance comparison are low adhesion ground, strong lateral wind, tight corners, and sudden obstacle avoidance. Result shows significant improvement in reference tracking and in reducing human effort in all scenarios using the SRPT approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechatronics Technology and Its Application in Intelligent Transportation)

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Review

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15 pages, 1368 KiB

Open AccessReview

Overview of Digital Twin Platforms for EV Applications

by Mahmoud Ibrahim, Viktor Rjabtšikov and Rolando Gilbert

Sensors 2023, 23(3), 1414; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23031414 - 27 Jan 2023

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4542

Abstract

Digital twin (DT) technology has been used in a wide range of applications, including electric vehicles. The DT platform provides a virtual representation or advanced simulation of a physical object in real-time. The implementation of DT on various aspects of EVs has recently transpired in different research studies. Generally, DT can emulate the actual vehicle on the road to predict/optimize its performance and improve vehicle safety. Additionally, DT can be used for the optimization of manufacturing processes, real-time condition monitoring (at all levels and in all powertrain components), energy management optimization, repurposing of the components, and even recycling processes. This paper presents an overview of different DT platforms that can be used in EV applications. A deductive comparison between model-based and data-driven DT was performed. EV main systems have been discussed regarding the usable DT platform. DT platforms used in the EV industry were addressed. Finally, the review showed the superiority of data-driven DTs over model-based DTs due to their ability to handle systems with high complexity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechatronics Technology and Its Application in Intelligent Transportation)

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