The paper presents a driver model, which can be used in a computer simulation of a curved ride of a car. A computer simulation of the curved ride and directional control of the car plays a significant role in a study of vehicle active safety, as the cheapest and safest investigation method. An analysis based on an advanced dynamic vehicle model only is not satisfactory in many cases, when interaction between the driver and the vehicle should not be neglected. The double lane change manoeuvre (ISO/TR 3888) is an example of the typical test procedure in which the vehicle-driver-environment model should be taken into consideration. In the driver model, it is assumed that the visual signal is most important for a directional control of the car. The driver model is described by three parameters: aim point distance, response delay and steering angle gain. The driver model can be used in studies of vehicle handling and stability when closed loop procedures are needed. Examples of the model application in computer simulations of such test procedures as the double lane change manoeuvre and the wind gust manoeuvre are presented in the paper. It is shown that the use of the driver model in computer simulation of the car motion enables better adaptation of car design to the psychophysical characteristics of the driver and can contribute to improve the active safety of the car.
Abstract