Work

A Numerical Study of the Vibration Characteristics of a Haptic Actuator for a Dial Gear Shifter

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Human–machine interaction (HMI) is becoming increasingly important, especially in the automotive industry, where advancements in automated driving and driver assistance systems are key to enhancing driver safety and convenience. Among the many HMI interfaces, tactile sensing has been widely used in automotive applications as it enables instant and direct interactions with drivers. An area that remains underexplored among the tactile HMI interfaces is the application of haptic feedback to gear shifter modules. Therefore, this study investigates the design optimization of a dial gear shifter by analyzing the vibrations transmitted to the knob surface from an integrated haptic actuator. Specifically, we first tuned the mechanical properties of the haptic actuator (in terms of the resonance frequency and vibration level) in a simulation model by referring to experimental results. Next, a numerical model of a dial gear shifter was constructed, integrated with a haptic actuator, and tuned with the experimental results. The model was further optimized based on the design of the experiment and sensitivity analyses. The optimized design yielded a 24.5% improvement in the vibration level compared with the reference design, exceeding the minimum threshold (>~2.5 m/s2 at 200 Hz) required for tactile sensing. The vibration enhancement (>22.x%) was also confirmed under the simulated hand-grabbing condition. This study is technically significant as it demonstrates that the haptic vibration in a dial gear shifter can be efficiently optimized through numerical analyses. This research will be used for the actual prototyping of a dial gear shifter to provide a safe driving experience for drivers.

Source: Applied Sciences

DOI: 10.3390/app14209242

Authors: Joonsik Won, Kinyeong Ko, Heesoo Eom, Chulsook Kim, Jihyun Cho, Howuk Kim

Institutions: Inha University, LSIS (South Korea)

Language: English

Topic: Vehicle Noise and Vibration Control

Subfield: Automotive Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,728

Funder: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy