Active Steering

Light, precise, dynamic, safe.
Electric steering with no mechanical link between steering and wheels offers many possibilities: It allows various solutions in regard to safety, handling and comfort which can be applied in dependence on the individual situation. “Steer-by-wire” technology is however still forbidden by legislation. The advantages of such a system can be realized by alternative technologies: Active-steering or Dynamic-steering as well as electric or non-hydraulic controlled power assisted steering systems.

Active-steering mainly differs compared to conventional steering since it implements an overlapping gear mechanism with an electric motor. It is therefore also called overlapping steering. By electrically controlling the electric motor, various steering ratios are allowed which can influence vehicle steering independently from driver input. The handling at lower speeds is therefore improved as there is less steering wheel movement needed for a given turn radius.
At higher speeds the steering ratio becomes less direct in order to provide the driver with a less sensitive vehicle to steering inputs.

In critical driving situations, i.e. split mue braking, dynamic steering can have a stabilizing effect, by quickly and quietly reducing under- and oversteer tendencies of the vehicle.

Active steering is therefore an important and obvious extension of ESC capabilities. By combining these two systems, optimum vehicle stabilizing performance can be achieved.