1. Electronic Engineering Final Year Project Final Year Project Presentation Title: Trailer Reverse Control System Author: Marco Law (Chun Ip) Supervisor: Dr. Martin Glavin

2. Topics Project Overview Project Overview Approach Approach Project Outcome Project Outcome Conclusion Conclusion

3. Project Overview When a driver is caught in a situation where reversing is the only option to get out of a dead- end or a tight corner, especially with a trailer attached to the vehicle, it is quite a difficult task, even to some experienced drivers.

4. Project Overview “Jack-knifing” “Jack-knifing” It is defined as the condition when a vehicle towing a trailer, it gets to such an acute angle that causing it to bend or fold up and it can no longer be manoeuvred in reverse. It is defined as the condition when a vehicle towing a trailer, it gets to such an acute angle that causing it to bend or fold up and it can no longer be manoeuvred in reverse.

5. Project Overview Objective of the project: Objective of the project: In order to prevent “jack-knife”, this project used equations to describe the motion and the orientation of the trailer and the vehicle which then implentmented to Matlab, where a number of input parameters were plotted in a graph, predicting and displaying the positions of the vehicle and the trailer when reversed in a distance.

6. Key input of parameters of the project Current angle between the vehicle and trailer Current angle between the vehicle and trailer Steering angle (fi1) Steering angle (fi1) Angle between the wheel of trailer and the X-axis (fi2) Angle between the wheel of trailer and the X-axis (fi2) Length of trailer's towbar Length of trailer's towbar Length of the trailer (L) Length of the trailer (L) Length from the front wheel to the vehicle's towbar (M) Length from the front wheel to the vehicle's towbar (M)

7. Approach The system was developed by using the equations which describe the behaviour of the vehicle and the trailer. The differential equations describing its movement: x1 = V*cos (fi1) y1 = V*sin (fi1) fi1' = 

8. Approach The position and orientation of the trailer: x3= V*cos(fi1 – fi2)*cos(fi2)+M*  *sin (fi1-fi2)*cos(fi2) y3= V*cos(fi1 – fi2)*sin(fi2)+M*  *sin (fi1-fi2)*sin(fi2) fi2' = 1/ L+l1 ( V*sin (fi1-fi2) + M*  *cos (fi1 – fi2)

9. Approach Assuming the vehicle is travelling at a constant speed of 0.05m/s (V), the radius of the wheel is 2.5cm and the angular velocity (  of the vehicle is then calculated – angular velocity = 2 rads/sec

10. Project Outcome When the calculated values were put in the equations, the results of the plots were unexpected, the position of the trailer seemed to be uncorrected. When the calculated values were put in the equations, the results of the plots were unexpected, the position of the trailer seemed to be uncorrected. The position of the vehicle (x1,y1) and the towbar (x2,y2) appeared correct but the rear axle of the trailer (x3,y3) was shifted to one side of the plot. The position of the vehicle (x1,y1) and the towbar (x2,y2) appeared correct but the rear axle of the trailer (x3,y3) was shifted to one side of the plot.

11. Project Outcome

12. Conclusion When the input parameters were inserted into the differential equations, the results and the plots in matlab generated in such a way that the position of the trailer were not quite expected to be, although a number of approaches were taking towards the problem, however, the solution to the problem is remain undefined.