Automobile Research Institute mainly focuses on research area of theory and application technology of intelligent vehicle and technology of intelligent chassis (which includes lateral control, longitudinal control and vertical control of vehicle). Automobile Research Institute has more than 20 researchers, which includes 4 professors, 10associate professors, 5 lecturers, 2 senior engineers and 1 advanced technician.
Figure 1 Group photo of Automobile Research Institute researchers
Currently, the research platform includes State Key Laboratory of Vehicle Transmission, Unmanned Vehicle Technical Key Laboratory of Ministry of Industry and Information, Ground Unmanned Platform Defense Science and Technology Innovation Team, Bionic Robot and Key Laboratory of System Education Department.
Focusing on major development needs of vehicle industry and military vehicles, Automobile Research Institute combine military use and civil use and actively research on intelligent vehicle theory and application frontier technology. The research includes many emerging technologies such as intelligent driving, active safety, automatic driving, driverless driving, network driving, intelligent transmission and control, new steering system, intelligent suspension, test and evaluation of intelligent activities, behavioral decision combining traffic scene and so on.
Automobile Research Institute combine intelligent control, artificial intelligence, large data technology with intelligent vehicles and mainly focus on the research of unmanned driving technology, multivariable large data machine learning, large data intelligent technology, cognition and understanding of environment perception and driving scene and state estimation and motion control based on vehicle dynamics and kinematics.
Considering the need of intellectualization of new energy vehicles, Automobile Research Institute pay attention to the study and industrialization application of intelligent driving control technology of hybrid electric vehicles, pure electric vehicles and new power source vehicles.
Automobile Research Institute includes two groups, the intelligent vehicle research group and automobile overall and chassis control research group, respectively.
The intelligent vehicle research group, which is one of ‘subject special area’ founded in 2005, is formed by Automation Steering Group of State Key Laboratory of Vehicle Transmission and Robot Center of Beijing Institute of Technology. This group is a research institute which starts the study of vehicular drivetrain automation and driverless vehicle at a relatively early time in our country. Through the efforts of generations, this group have achieved leading success in this area and gained unique dominant position in the area of military-civil vehicle. Being one of the earliest ground-based driverless technology research teams in China, the study of driverless technology starts in 1990, since then, this group win ‘The third award of the Scientific and Technological Progress of the State’ and the first and second award of ‘Future challenge for smart cars in China’. At the same time, the group starts the research of automatic transmission technology in 1980. Currently, a series of fruits has been achieved and used in a series of equipment. The study is also used in industrialization application of new energy commercial vehicles.
The automobile overall and chassis control research group is founded during ‘the ninth five-year plan’ period. It has undertaken the overall design project of light parachute assault vehicle, airborne tractor, autonomous Vehicle and so on, laying the foundation of automobile overall theory and technology area. In recent years, focusing on the mobility of wheeled off-road vehicle, this group has undertaken many state pre-research projects and enterprise projects including research on light / heavy high maneuvering oil and gas suspension, active control of suspension, multi wheel / full wheel steering, ABS/ASR of wheeled-vehicle, vibration and noise control and so on. This group has gained rich experience in the area of vehicle dynamics analysis and control. At present, combining the advantage of current theory and technology, this group focus on the emerging area of vehicle industry and research on electrification, line control and intelligent control of chassis. To improve the safety, comfort and economy efficiency of vehicle, this group undertake overall research on active steering, active suspension, active braking and other subsystem of chassis, providing safe and intelligent control stability guarantee for unmanned / manned vehicle in special conditions.
(a) Automobile Research Institute win many awards in intelligent car competitions.
(b) Automobile Research Institute guide more than 50 undergraduates in the intelligent car competitions and win many awards.
(c)Automobile Research Institute publish series of textbooks and monographs about intelligent car.
Figure 2: The leading driverless technology
(Note: In November 2013, in the Fifth China smart car challenge competition, the unmanned vehicle developed by Automobile Research Institute showed excellent performance of 4S (safety, intelligence, stability and speed), and won the champion. In 2014 Automobile Research Institute participated in the first ground unmanned platform challenge held by the General Equipment Department. The Titan manufactured by Automobile Research Institute ranked the third and Automobile Research Institute ranked the second. The research achievements of intelligent vehicles play an important role in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.
Figure 3: Mature automatic control technology
(Note: Automobile Research Institute has studied on transmission control technology, integrated control technology of power transmission, electromechanical hybrid drive and energy management technology for a long time. The manufactured automatic mechanical transmission has been applied extensively in special vehicle and Automobile Research Institute has won 8 provincial and ministerial above awards which includes the second award of the Scientific and Technological Progress of the State)
Figure 4: Oil and gas suspension and its intelligent control
(Note: Basing on the analysis of vehicle dynamics, the automobile overall and chassis control research group has studied on oil gas and air suspension and its intelligent control technology for a long time and gained many technological achievements especially on the area of off-road vehicles.)
Figure 5: Multi wheel all wheel steering and its control system / independently driven unmanned platform
(Note:The automobile overall and chassis control research group invents hydraulic full wheel steering actuator, electric all-wheel steering actuator and all-wheel steering control system, significantly decreases steering radius of off-road vehicles and increases the steering handling stability.)
During years of development, Automobile Research Institute has gained many intellectual property rights and technical fruits, including a ‘The second award of the Scientific and Technological Progress of the State’, a’ The second award of Provincial and ministerial inventions’, 2 the first prize and 4 the second prize and 2 the third prize in science and technology progress at provincial and ministerial level. It has published a series of academic monographs in the field of intelligent vehicles and won more than 10 intellectual property rights. Among them, < introduction to unmanned vehicles > has won the first prize of the sixth excellent teaching materials of the military university. Paratroopers invented by the automobile overall and chassis control research group has won the second prize for scientific and technological progress in national defense. The research fruits of semi active hydro pneumatic suspension system, all wheel steering control system and chassis integrated control system lay the theoretical and technical foundation of wheeled tactical vehicles’ maneuverability and intelligent improvements.