Nexteer’s steer-by-wire with stowable steering column wins SAA innovation award
Nexteer Automotive’s Steer-by-Wire with stowable steering column has been recognized with the Society of Automotive Analysts’ (SAA) Mobility Innovation Award for technologies enabling new business models.
Nexteer’s combination of SbW with Stowable Steering Column reinvents the ‘behind-the-wheel’ experience and opens an untapped frontier of advanced safety and performance features for traditional and varying levels of automated driving.
“Nexteer is honored to be recognized with SAA’s Mobility Innovation Award for our Steer-by-Wire with Stowable Steering Column,” said Robin Milavec, President, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Executive Board Director, Nexteer Automotive. “These technologies are poised to transform the future of mobility by improving safety and performance and reinventing the ‘behind-the-wheel’ experience for drivers. We’re proud of our team’s commitment to relentless innovation that enables us to develop game-changing motion control solutions like these that solve OEM challenges across megatrends like Autonomy, Electrification, Software and more.”
“The Mobility Innovation Awards provide us with the opportunity to recognize exceptional innovations that are developed anywhere in the world, and to encourage new ideas and perspectives,” said Abey Abraham, SAA President and Principal at Ducker. “As an industry, we have been forced to think out of the box, be collaborative and put aside the notion of ‘that is always how we have done it.’ Mobility is evolving quickly and this year’s entries showed that we are ready to evolve with it.”
Steer-by-Wire with stowable steering column
Nexteer’s SbW replaces the mechanical connection between the handwheel and roadwheels with algorithms, electronics and actuators. SbW opens the gateway to benefits that are not achievable with traditional steering solutions. SbW can enhance stability control, reduce braking distances, and is a preferred enabler for Park Assist and Automatic Emergency Steering (AES).
When paired together, Nexteer’s SbW with Stowable Steering Column opens a new world of cockpit design options and changes how drivers can use their vehicles – creating the opportunity for OEMs to re-invent and re-purpose the driver’s cabin space. For example, when SbW is coupled with Stowable Steering Column during automated driving, additional space is created for the driver to engage with other activities. This technology can also be used for traditional driving vehicles. When the vehicle is in park, Nexteer’s Stowable Steering Column can extend the usable space in the vehicle cabin, creating a more spacious office-on-wheels.