Schaeffler, the OE and aftermarket component manufacturer behind the LuK clutch, INA tensioner,  FAG wheel bearing and Ruville engine, cooling and suspension components ranges is taking part in a unique programme aimed at radically improving vehicle manoeuvrability. Called the OmniSteer project it brings together science, technology and education partners to investigate the true potential of new vehicle chassis types with wheels that can be steered individually and electric drives.

"The increasing electrification and automation of vehicles makes it possible to offer users innovative driving functions”, explains project managers Dr. Marcel Mayer from Schaeffler and Dr. Michael Frey from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. "The added value offered by electric drives compared to internal combustion engines is significant, because we can directly integrate electric drives into each wheel”.

The project team believes that possibilities such as switching seamlessly between front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel steering could revolutionise driving manoeuvres in restricted spaces, such as turning corners and changing lanes in traffic. It will even be possible to pull into parking spaces at a right angle to the direction of the traffic.

As part of the OmniSteer project, a scaled-down demonstration vehicle with a lateral and transverse guidance system capable of performing orthogonal, multi-directional, and non-linear driving and steering manoeuvres is being developed.