r/mildlyinteresting • u/dysfunctionalveteran • Aug 26 '21

Interior and controls of my garbage truck. Quality Post

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u/Baldazar666 Aug 26 '21

I mean of course they would. They have a real physical connection to the wheels.

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u/burtmacklin15 Aug 26 '21 edited Aug 26 '21

I mean you could have some sort of mechanical disconnect for the steering column, but that would be quite complicated to implement.

Edit: sorry I meant temporary mechanical disconnect, not full drive-by-wire

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u/A_Sinclaire Aug 26 '21

It already exists but I think mostly in prototype form so far.

There is a company called Paravan that built a 2019 Audi R8 LMS GT3 with Steer-by-Wire controls and a Force Feedback steering wheel which just simulates the resistance of a steering column.

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u/A_L_A_M_A_T Aug 26 '21

What's the point of having steer by wire on a car, especially on a race car? It's just another additional cost, complexity, and point of electronic failure. I guess it may be a bit lighter.

Even just electric power steering alone is more expensive to repair and more prone to failure than a mechanical power steering unit, at least from where i am from (not the US).

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u/A_Sinclaire Aug 26 '21

I think the race car is more a proof of concept for them - if it works well in a race car then it is good enough for other vehicles.

They seem to have built a whole package with steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and remote controllability.

One use case the company has is, that it allows for all kinds of different controls for disabled people. Most of their other suggested applications though seem to mostly focus on the RC aspect

It's probably not a mass market thing though.

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u/rebelolemiss Aug 26 '21

Isn’t most touring car racing proof of concept for production cars? Only saying that you seem to be correct.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '21

This is actually a common thing with tractors nowadays. Many tractors have gps and drive the lines by themselves and the farmer turns the tractor around at the end of a row. But the steering system for the gps guided mode is connected directly to the hydraulics while the steering wheel isnt mechanically connected to them. So, as it makes its corrections, the steering wheel sits perfectly still.