LEWISBURG – Thanks to a national grant, and the growth in the self-driving car industry, a Bucknell professor is poised to help improve vehicle safety. Craig Beal, a professor of mechanical engineering, received a $154,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in September.
That will provide equipment for Beal to measure steering torque, which is the effort required to hold the front wheels at a given angle as vehicles travel around a turn. Beal hopes to use those measurements to predict the grip between the tires and roadway.
Beal plans to make his measurements using sensors within the wheels of a prototype electric car build by Stanford University students. The grant will fund the purchase of the in-wheel sensors. (Matt Catrillo)
