Adaptive Cruise Control

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jacky4566
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Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 10:05 am

Adaptive Cruise Control

Post by jacky4566 »

Not sure where else on the internet to put this but MS haha.

So in the 80s and 90s aftermarket cruise control was kinda popular. Then it became standard on most cars. Now that cars are moving to Adaptive radar based cruise control. Has anyone investigate retrofitting such a system to a drive by wire system.

Obviously it won't be as good as factor but man is it nice to have.

My initial instinct is once a suitable sensor is found it could be driven by an arduino and stepper motor with a small controller in the dash. Thoughts?
Matt Cramer
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Re: Adaptive Cruise Control

Post by Matt Cramer »

Any home-brewed device placed in control of your throttle needs a ton of testing before use on a real throttle to make sure it's bulletproof. Making an Arduino Uno move a servo is pretty straightforward; making sure that it will do so under any sort of abuse you can throw at it is a massive undertaking, and would best be done with an automotive grade processor with built in watchdog capabilities and a second core looking over the first core's shoulder to make sure the calculations aren't doing anything crazy. And it will need a lot of testing with something like a throttle sitting on your dashboard with someone watching it before you put it on the throttle.

Proceed with caution, and please don't test an alpha version with live control over your throttle on the same road I'm driving on. This is the sort of application where the phrase "fatal error" is not metaphorical.
Matt Cramer -1966 Dodge Dart slant six running on MS3X
jacky4566
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Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2015 10:05 am

Re: Adaptive Cruise Control

Post by jacky4566 »

Oh most certainly safety is of the highest importance. Agreed there.
If anything I would use a vacuum based system like the old 90s subarus. Then in addition to digital redundancy you have a mechanical cutoff with spring return on a proven OEM mechanism.

But really my curiosity lies in those radar sensor units. They seem to sell for quite a bit of money on ebay.
jammy86
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Re: Adaptive Cruise Control

Post by jammy86 »

The main thing that you need for adaptive cruise control which may not seem obvious is a brake system which is able to activate the brakes without input from the pedal. As a result the required integration task is pretty epic and whilst those who have developed such a system working for an OEM may be able to undertake this, it is unlikely that the required tools (software tools) are available for DIY use. Those who have developed such systems for an OEM would also probably understand why you would never want such a system to be developed by a DIY enthusiast irrespective of their ability. The required validation program on such systems runs in to the hundreds of thousands of £/$/Euro if not millions. I'm not being a naysayer but in the interests of public safety I hope no-one ever tries to develop a DIY solution which can accelerate and brake a car, not one that is used on public roads anyway....
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