Academic Research
University-industry partnerships
With university-industry partnerships becoming an ever more influential part of how the automotive industry works, AB Dynamics has a long history of working with and supplying equipment to some of the leading universities worldwide.
Allowing students access to the same equipment that the industry uses enables more successful research projects and better qualified graduates who are ready to work in the industry.
Case study - truck reversing project
Students at the University of Cambridge used an AB Dynamics steering robot to develop an innovative algorithm for reversing trucks with two trailers.
The steering robot was used in 'external follow' mode with the steering wheel angle proportional to a signal received from an external control system. The students created a program to output the control signal, whereby the driver used a joystick to direct the rearward trailer and the software calculated the required steering input in real time.
The project was successful, allowing an average driver to perform manoeuvres that would be difficult for the most experienced truck driver.
Research into self-driving cars
More recently, AB Dynamics' driving robots have been used extensively with the external following mode by customers developing autonomous vehicle technology.
This allows engineers to focus on developing the responsive control technology needed to drive a vehicle in traffic, relying on our robots to apply the desired inputs to the vehicle’s steering and pedals.