The Research and Design of a New ABS System for Automotive by using the GMR Sensor

This dissertation explores the potential improvement of ABS design through the replacement of widely used Hall-effect sensor with the more sensitive GMR sensor technology and the replacement of wired with wireless transmission of information. The dissertation contributes an overview of main existing types of sensors that can be used for ABS design, describing the underlying technology of each as well as their main strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the dissertation proposes a GMR ABS design and reports on the results obtained during its validation through simulation and subsequent evaluation of a laboratory prototype built according to the design.

The contribution of this dissertation is threefold: the overview of existing sensor technology offers a comprehensive big picture of the field and serves to identify the most promising technology that can improve the performance of modern ABS; the design validated, implemented and evaluated provides conclusive proof of the feasibility of using GMR sensors and wireless transmission, as well as promising results regarding the potential performance gain; a comparison of the observed characteristics of the GMR sensor's performance during evaluation with known characteristics of the more usual Hall-effect sensor gives further evidence as to the potential gains that can be expected from a replacement of Hall-effect sensors with GMR sensors.

The results of this work represent initial proofs of concept and of potential gains, opening thus a multitude of directions for future research, as detailed in the last chapter of this dissertation.