Handwheel obstruction detection and inertia compensation

A vehicle steering system, comprising:

• a sensor sensing a handwheel angle based on a sensed pinion angle and a sensed torsion bar windup angle;
• an autonomous steering module generating an input torque signal;
• and
• a steering angle controller determining a handwheel acceleration based on the handwheel angle, determining an offset torque based on the handwheel acceleration, and generating a compensated torque signal based on the offset torque and the input torque signal.

A method, comprising:

• sensing an angle of a handwheel based on a sensed pinion angle and a sensed torsion bar windup angle;
• generating a steering command having an input torque signal;
• determining a handwheel acceleration based on the angle;
• determining an offset torque based on the handwheel acceleration;
• and
• generating a compensated torque signal based on the offset torque and the input torque signal to compensate for inertia and off-center mass of the handwheel.