An Anti-Lock Braking System for Bicycles

Abstract

This work presents an anti-lock braking system (ABS) for bicycles equipped with hydraulic brakes. The systems employs an electrostatic hydraulic actuator capable of modulating the braking pressure when a loss of adherence is detected while behaving passively during nominal conditions. This paper describes the control architecture and proposes three wheel deceleration controllers: Bang-Bang (BB), Second Order Sliding Mode (SOSM) and Proportional Integral (PI). The features and tuning procedure of each one are discussed and experimentally validated. Appropriate cost functions are adopted to quantitatively compare the presented ABS control logics on different road conditions proving the greater robustness of the PI in terms of both performances and rider's comfort level.