Automatically adjustable steering geometry for autonomous vehicle

An autonomous vehicle comprising:

• a chassis;
• a pair of front wheels rotationally mounted to the chassis;
• a single rack-and-pinion steering mechanism having a single rack engaged by a single pinion for steering the autonomous vehicle and further having steering arms connected to the front wheels, wherein the steering mechanism is characterized by a steering geometry and wherein the steering arms are mechanically coupled by a transverse linkage that includes the rack such that the front wheels are mechanically coupled and thereby steered together;
• a vehicle dynamics prediction module executed by a processor for predicting a vehicle dynamics condition and for generating a control signal based on the vehicle dynamics condition, wherein the vehicle dynamics prediction module receives location data from a positioning system and determines a vehicle path and cornering forces for a curve in the vehicle path to predict the vehicle dynamics condition using also a predicted speed of the vehicle in the curve;
• and
• a steering geometry adjustment mechanism connected to the steering mechanism for automatically adjusting the steering geometry in response to the control signal prior to reaching the curve,
• wherein the steering geometry adjustment mechanism comprises a single Ackerman-adjusting actuator to adjust an Ackerman steering angle in response to the control signal, wherein the Ackerman steering angle is defined as an angle between intersecting projections of the steering arms,
• wherein the steering geometry adjustment mechanism further comprises left and right toe-adjusting actuators that are adjustable independently of the Ackerman-adjusting actuator, to adjust left and right toe angles in response to the control signal to thereby readjust the left and right toe angles in response to an adjustment in the Ackerman steering angle made by the Ackerman-adjusting actuator.