Systems and methods for automatically determining an autonomous steering system center

A system for performing operations onboard a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a system memory element;
• a steering mechanism of the vehicle coupled to wheels of the vehicle, the steering mechanism configured to turn the wheels of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle and during calibration;
• a communication device configured to receive vehicle system requests for at least one of a zero-position center and at least one maximum steering angle;
• and
• at least one processor, communicatively coupled to the system memory element, the steering mechanism, and the communication device, the at least one processor configured to:
• receive a steering calibration command from a secondary computer, the steering calibration command including a left turn command and a right turn command;
• control movement of the steering mechanism based on the left turn command and the right turn command;
• determine the at least one maximum steering angle of the vehicle, based on the left turn command and the right turn command, the at least one maximum steering angle being associated with a maximum potential position of the steering mechanism;
• identify the zero-position center of the steering mechanism, based on the at least one maximum steering angle of the vehicle;
• store the zero-position center and the at least one maximum steering angle, for future use;
• and
• initiate a broadcast of the zero-position center and the at least one maximum steering angle, by the communication device via a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus of the vehicle.

A method for performing operations by a computing device onboard a vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving, by the computing device, a steering calibration command generated by a secondary computer communicatively coupled to the computing device and a steering mechanism for the vehicle, the steering calibration command including a left turn command and a right turn command;
• controlling, by the computing device, the steering mechanism based on the left turn command and the right turn command of the steering calibration command;
• determining at least one maximum steering angle of the vehicle, based on execution of the steering calibration command, the at least one maximum steering angle being associated with a maximum potential position of the steering mechanism, by:
• determining a first turning position of wheels of the vehicle, wherein the steering mechanism is coupled to the wheels;
• establishing the first turning position as an origin point that potentially indicates a zero-turning angle for the wheels of the vehicle;
• initiating execution of the steering calibration command to turn wheels of the vehicle, by the computing device via the steering mechanism, wherein the steering calibration command comprises at least one of a positive calibration command and a negative calibration command;
• and
• identifying a maximum achieved position of the wheels after execution of the steering calibration command, wherein the maximum achieved position indicates the at least one maximum steering angle;
• identifying a zero-position center of the steering mechanism, based on the at least one maximum steering angle of the vehicle;
• and
• storing the zero-position center and the at least one maximum steering angle, by the computing device, for future use.