Human-centered Steer-by-Wire design: Steering wheel dynamics should be task dependent

Steer-by-Wire (SbW) systems currently under development by the automotive industry offer interesting new approaches to designing driver-steering wheel interactions. The traditional, emerging dynamics in mechanically linked steering systems can be re-designed with SbW to improve or even extend the steering `feel'. In this article we manipulated the steering wheel dynamics such that each design was expected to yield the best driving performance with the least amount of driver control effort for a particular driving task. We tested three designs during three different driving tasks in a fixed-base driving simulator. The results of the experiment showed that steering wheel dynamics should be stiff and sluggish for driving on straight roads and slack and light for curve negotiation. Future experiments will investigate the implications for drivers on a neuromuscular level.