Development of a lightweight and quick-to-install pedal robot for unmanned chassis dynamometer testing

As electric vehicles become more popular, their development and testing using chassis dynamometers is also increasing. Compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, chassis dynamometer testing for electric vehicles requires several to dozens of times longer, requiring increasingly more labor. Furthermore, low-temperature testing is also required, further increasing the labor intensity of testing. Therefore, we developed and evaluated a pedal robot to facilitate unmanned and automated testing. The pedal robot developed in this study weighs only 12 kg and can be installed in a matter of minutes. It is the world's first pedal robot that mimics human driving behavior by driving with one foot and operating the accelerator and brake pedals. Unlike existing driving robots, the robot's actuators do not need to be directly connected to the vehicle pedals, making installation quick. Furthermore, it is installed on the floor of the driver's seat, eliminating the need for a seat attachment. The pedal robot, which consists of three degrees of freedom and three motors, utilizes AI to recognize the shape and position of pedals on various vehicles and initiate testing. The performance of this pedal robot was evaluated in UDDS and HWFET speed modes, and analyses were conducted according to the SAE J2951 standard. The comparative analysis revealed that the pedal robot exhibited significantly superior speed tracking performance compared to a skilled tester. This pedal robot is currently being used for certification testing of electric vehicles and other vehicles at the Mobile Environment Research Center of the National Institute of Environmental Research in Korea. This paper includes a comparative analysis of the results.