Irish research to reduce overturning

Researchers at NUI Maynooth have developed a method of counteracting the threat of a high-sided vehicle turning over. Unlike existing control systems, which assume that the vehicle is always fully loaded, the new system constantly responds to changes in the centre of gravity of the load.

Lead researcher Selim Solmaz of the university's Hamilton Institute, said while the proportion of rollover crashes in the US is relatively small, at around 2.6 per cent, they account for over 20 per cent of all fatalities, making these crashes the most lethal.

These vehicles account for more than a third of the US vehicle fleet, and in Ireland is one of the fastest growing segments for new car sales. In the first six months of the year sales of new SUVs were up 29.6 per cent, resulting in its market share growing to 6.8 per cent. US crash data also shows that high-sided vehicles are more prone to these crashes, with SUVs, light trucks or vans accounting for almost three-quarters of all rollover crashes.Solmaz says most modern mid- to high-range vehicles in this class have active control systems to monitor the vehicle's performance.

These systems automatically brake one or more wheels when a loss of traction is detected due to under or oversteering, helping to correct the vehicle's balance.

Most SUVs or light trucks have their suspension set as if the vehicle were loaded to capacity and as a result driving performance, particularly cornering, is impaired, Solmaz notes.

What he and his research team have developed is a piece of software based on an algorithm which constantly recalculates the centre of gravity every time the vehicle starts to corner and relays this information to an automatic vehicle control unit, making the performance of the vehicle more efficient.

This technology also uses corrective braking to respond to changes in the centre of gravity but, the researchers say, the braking is more sensitive to the requirements of that vehicle and how it is loaded.

Selim Solmaz says one reason they are hopeful the technology may make it into production vehicles is that it would be relatively cheap to add to existing vehicle electronic control units.

To date, the technology has only been tested in simulators and the first patent was filed in 2006. The researchers are in talks with "several" vehicle manufacturers about field-testing the technology, but declined to say which companies are involved.