Collaborative steering system for a vehicle

A method for steering of a vehicle having an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), the method comprising:

• equipping the vehicle with a driver-controllable steering device, a power steering actuator coupled to a steerable vehicle wheel, a spatial monitoring system, and a navigation system;
• determining, via the steering device, a driver steering command;
• monitoring, via the spatial monitoring system, an area that is proximal to the vehicle;
• determining, via a navigation system, travel route information;
• determining, via the ADAS, a target path and a target trajectory for the vehicle based upon an input from the spatial monitoring system and the travel route information from the navigation system;
• determining a second steering command based upon the target path and the target trajectory;
• determining, via the spatial monitoring system, a plurality of external factors related to the target path and the target trajectory;
• determining a weighted driver steering command based upon the plurality of external factors;
• determining a steering angle command based upon the weighted driver steering command and the second steering command;
• and
• controlling the power steering actuator to control the steerable wheel responsive to the steering angle command;
• wherein determining the weighting factor for the driver steering command based upon the plurality of external factors comprises:
• determining a first weighting factor associated with a first steering direction;
• determining a second weighting factor associated with a second steering direction that is opposite to the first steering direction;
• and
• determining the weighted driver steering command based upon the driver steering command, the first weighting factor for the driver steering command, and the second weighting factor for the driver steering command.

A method for controlling steering on a vehicle, the method comprising:

• equipping the vehicle with a driver-controllable steering device, a power steering actuator coupled to a steerable vehicle wheel, an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) including a spatial monitoring system, and a navigation system;
• determining, via the ADAS and the navigation system, a target path and a target trajectory for the vehicle;
• determining a second steering command based upon the target path and the target trajectory for the vehicle;
• determining, via the steering device, a driver steering command;
• determining, via the spatial monitoring system, a plurality of external factors related to the target path and the target trajectory;
• determining a weighted driver steering command based upon the plurality of external factors, including:
• determining a first weighting factor associated with a first steering direction,
• determining a second weighting factor associated with a second steering direction that is opposite to the first steering direction, and
• determining the weighted driver steering angle command based upon the driver steering command, the first weighting factor for the driver steering command, the second weighting factor for the driver steering command, and the driver steering command;
• executing a model predictive controller routine (MPC) to determine a steering angle command based upon the weighted driver steering command, the target path, and the target trajectory;
• and
• controlling the power steering actuator to control the steerable wheel responsive to the steering angle command.