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Future on-board vehicle control systems can be further improved through new types of mechatronic systems. In particular, these systems'' capacities for interaction enhance safety, comfort and economic viability. The Automotive Engineering Department (fzd) of Darmstadt University of Technology is engaged in research of the mechatronic vehicle corner, which consists of three subsystems: sensor tire, electrically actuated wheel brake and smart suspension. By intercommunication of these three systems, the brake controller receives direct, fast and permanent information about dynamic events in the tire contact area provided by the tire sensor as valuable control input. This allows to control operation conditions of each wheel brake. The information provided by the tire sensor for example helps to distinguish between straightline driving and cornering as well as to determine μ-split conditions.

On the basis of three examples of Darmstadt University research some problems and future tasks of designing the man-vehicle-interface are described. The driving behavior of passenger car drivers in real traffic is analyzed and possibilities to protect the driver in critical driving situations are derived. A new device for measuring the coupling forces between motorcycles and drivers which are essential to motorcycle dynamics is presented. First results with this are discussed. Finally, research into emergency braking is described. The research work was jointly conducted by the Department of Automotive Engineering (fzd) and the Institute of Ergonomics (IAD) of the Technical University of Darmstadt.