Table of Contents

CONTENTS PAGES

 Introduction Page 3

 History Page 4

 The Working Mechanism Page 4

 Conclusion Page 7

 Resources Page 8
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INTRODUCTION
Cruise control (sometimes known as speed control or autocruise) is a system that
automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system takes over the throttle of
the car to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is an
optional cruise control system appearing on some more upscale vehicles. The system goes
under many different trade names according to the manufacturer. It is an improved cruise
control. These improvements can be automatic braking or dynamic set-speed type controls.

Automatic Braking Type: The automatic braking type use either a radar or laser
setup to allow the vehicle keep pace with the car it is following, slow when closing in on the
vehicle in front and accelerating again to the preset speed when traffic allows. Some
systems also feature forward collision warning systems, which warns the driver if a vehicle
in front - given the speed of both vehicles - gets too close (within the preset headway or
braking distance) and assists braking.

Dynamic Set Speed Type: The dynamic set speed uses the GPS position of speed
limit signs, from a database. Some are modifiable by the driver.

A car with Adaptive Cruise Control feature

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HISTORY
Speed control with a centrifugal governor was used in automobiles as early as the
1910s, notably by Peerless. Peerless advertised that their system would "maintain speed
whether up hill or down". The technology was invented by James Watt and Matthew
Boulton in 1788 to control steam engines. The governor adjusts the throttle position as the
speed of the engine changes with different loads. Modern cruise control (also known as a
speedostat) was invented in 1945 by the blind inventor and mechanical engineer Ralph
Teetor. His idea was born out of the frustration of riding in a car driven by his lawyer, who
kept speeding up and slowing down as he talked. The first car with Teetor's system was the
Chrysler Imperial in 1958. This system calculated ground speed based on driveshaft
rotations and used a solenoid to vary throttle position as needed.

In modern designs, the cruise control may need to be turned on before use — in
some designs it is always "on" but not always enabled, others have a separate "on/off"
switch, while still others just have an "on" switch that must be pressed after the vehicle has
been started. Most designs have buttons for "set", "resume", "accelerate", and "coast"
functions. Some also have a "cancel" button. Alternatively, tapping the brake or clutch pedal
will disable the system so the driver can change the speed without resistance from the
system

THE WORKING MECHANISM

The cruise control system controls the speed of a car the same way we do -- by adjusting the
throttle position. But cruise control actuates the throttle valve by a cable connected to an actuator,
instead of by pressing a pedal. The throttle valve controls the power and speed of the engine by
limiting how much air the engine takes in.
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One of the cables is connected to the gas pedal, the other

to the vacuum actuator

In the picture above, we can see two cables connected to a pivot that moves the
throttle valve. One cable comes from the accelerator pedal, and one from the actuator.
When the cruise control is engaged, the actuator moves the cable connected to the pivot,
which adjusts the throttle; but it also pulls on the cable that is connected to the gas pedal --
this is why the pedal moves up and down when the cruise control is engaged.

The electronically-controlled vacuum actuator

that controls the throttle

Many cars use actuators powered by engine vacuum to open and close the throttle.
These systems use a small, electronically-controlled valve to regulate the vacuum in a
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diaphragm. This works in a similar way to the brake booster, which provides power to the
brake system.

The brain of a cruise control system is a small computer that is normally found under
the hood or behind the dashboard. It connects to the throttle control seen in the previous
section, as well as several sensors. The diagram below shows the inputs and outputs of a
typical cruise control system.

A good cruise control system accelerates aggressively to the desired speed without
overshooting, and then maintains that speed with little deviation no matter how much
weight is in the car, or how steep the hill you drive up. Controlling the speed of a car is a
classic application of control system theory. The cruise control system controls the speed of
the car by adjusting the throttle position, so it needs sensors to tell it the speed and throttle
position. It also needs to monitor the controls so it can tell what the desired speed is and
when to disengage. The most important input is the speed signal; the cruise control system
does a lot with this signal. First, let's start with one of the most basic control systems you
could have -- a proportional control. In a proportional control system, the cruise control
adjusts the throttle proportional to the error, the error being the difference between the
desired speed and the actual speed. So, if the cruise control is set at 60 mph and the car is
going 50 mph, the throttle position will be open quite far. When the car is going 55 mph, the
throttle position opening will be only half of what it was before. The result is that the closer
the car gets to the desired speed, the slower it accelerates.

Most cruise control systems use a control scheme called proportional-integral-

derivative control (a.k.a. PID control). One doesn’t need to know much about calculus to
understand it – just have to remember that:
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The integral of speed is distance.

The derivative of speed is acceleration.

A PID control system uses these three factors – proportional, integral and
derivative, calculating each individually and adding them to get the throttle position.

The proportional factor was already mentioned. The integral factor is based on the
time integral of the vehicle speed error. Translation: the difference between the distance
the car actually traveled and the distance it would have traveled if it were going at the
desired speed, calculated over a set period of time. This factor helps the car deal with hills,
and also helps it settle into the correct speed and stay there. Let's say the car starts to go up
a hill and slows down. The proportional control increases the throttle a little, but we may
still slow down. After a little while, the integral control will start to increase the throttle,
opening it more and more, because the longer the car maintains a speed slower than the
desired speed, the larger the distance error gets.

Now let's add in the final factor, the derivative. Remember that the derivative of
speed is acceleration. This factor helps the cruise control respond quickly to changes, such
as hills. If the car starts to slow down, the cruise control can see this acceleration (slowing
down and speeding up are both acceleration) before the speed can actually change much,
and respond by increasing the throttle position.

CONCLUSION
Adaptive Cruise Control has an important role in the present technological scenario. It
provides a great deal of driving assistance. Some of those advantages include:

 Its usefulness for long drives across sparsely populated roads. This usually
results in better fuel efficiency.
 It is helpful in safe driving as it automatically maintains a safe distance from
the car in front, provides braking assist and pre-collision warnings.
 Some drivers use it to avoid unconsciously violating speed limits. A driver
who otherwise tends to unconsciously increase speed over the course of a
highway journey may avoid a speeding ticket. Such drivers should note,
however, that a cruise control may go over its setting on a downhill which is
steep enough to accelerate with an idling engine.