innovation for a standard intermittent windshield wiper is situation which often arises during a car race.

The driver of a race

e concept of a smart wiper that automatically turns itself car has many continuously onerous responsibilities that require
on or off and adjusts its wiping cycle according to the intensity critical decisions and precise execution to win arace. Many races
of rain. This article describes the development of a smart auto- have been won by cars that finished only fractions of seconds
matic windshield wiper system using a fuzzy logic-based con- ahead of others. Concentration becomes so crucial and time so
ductive rain sensor scheme. Fuzzy logic is used to compensate precious that a race car driver does not wish to spend any effort
nonlinearities in the sensor and implement intuitive reasoning on menial yet important tasks such as controlling the windshield
for automatic operation of the wiper. An M68HCll-based mi- wiper [l-51 in case of a rainy condition during a race. Conse-
crocontroller was developed to implement and test the smart quently, most drivers simply leave the wipers turned on through
wiper concept for a car. The proposed approach described in this the race, whether it is raining heavily or drizzling. In such
article can-be extended io situations, a driver might ap-
other applications related to preciate having a smart auto-
rain detection and system ac- Cheok and Kobayashi are with the Department of Electrical and matic intermittent wiper that
tuation. Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science, turns itself on or off and adjusts
Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309-4401, telephone: 810- its speed and delay interval ac-
Introduction 370-2232,fax: 810-370-4261, email: cheok@ oakland.edu. Scaccia cording to rain conditions dur-
To appreciate the motiva- and Scaccia are with Technoresearch Inc., I766 Greenwich, Troy, ing a race. The research
tion of this project in this arti- MI 48098, telephone: 810-370-0042, fax: 810-370-0042, email: described herein was initiated
cle, consider the following scaccia@oakland.edu. and sponsored by the Alfa Ro-

28 0272- 1708/96/$05.0001996IEEE IEEE Control Systems

 Physical Sensors & Electronic Computer
process ! Actuators ! Conditioning ! Controller
Rain or
I I I interface sensor, decision and actuation hardware, is discussed
Drizzle
+!7 Windshield
I
+zk Washer
1 Motor
Fig. 1. Schematics of a smart wiper with fuzzy logic controller
meo Race Team to investigate the development of such a wiper,
Aside from racing, a smart wiper could be also beneficial for
commercial automobiles. An automatic wiper would eliminate
momentary distractions ofhaving to adjust the wiper control. The
advantage is obvious since such smart automation would allow
a driver to concentrate on driving or to race in varying rainy
conditions.
In this article, we describe the concept and design considera-
tions for a smart wiper, and discuss the potential of multi-sensor
fusion for detecting rain conditions (second section). Next, we
focus on how a fuzzy logic controller [6-101 can be used with a
conductive rain sensor to provide a smart wiper control scheme.
We then present an outline of the approach we used to develop
and implement the real-time stand-alone fuzzy logic hardware
(Motorola microcontroller [ l 11) and software (FIDE [12]). Fi-
nally, we demonstrate the test results of the fuzzy logic controller
for the smart wiper.
Concept for a Smart Wiper
The general concept of a smart wiper, including use of multi-
sensing devices, is briefly discussed as part of the preliminary
investigation carried out for this project.
Functional Configuration of a Smart Wiper
A general schematic block diagram for a smart wiper control
system is shown in Fig. 1. The innovative components in the
configuration are the rain sensors and fuzzy logic decision
scheme for the wiper motor hardware.
Desirable Features for a Smart Wiper
The desirable automatic features of a smart wiper are as
follows:
Turn itself on as needed when it drizzles, rains, or snows.
Adjust its intermittent delay interval according to the con-
dition of drizzle, rain, or snow.
Apply washer fluid when needed.
Turn itself off when not needed.
As a result of these requirements, a smart wiper will need new
components to supplement its standard components.
December 1996
New Components of a Smart Wiper
A selection of potential new components, including user
below:
Control Panel. The control panel of a smart wiper will have
a three-position switch for selecting Automatic I Manual I Off
modes. The automatic mode will turn on the wiper, decide the
intermittent interval, and select a “Low” or “High” speed for the
wiper motor. It will also activate the windshield washer pump
as needed.
Sensors. Different sensor methods, including the use of re-
flective, audio, and conductive sensors, were considered for
detecting rain conditions and quantifying its intensity. They are
briefly described below:
a. Reflectivity sensor. A reflectivity sensor is a photo diode-
photo transistor unit where the transistor is used to detect the
amount of reflected light emitted by the LED. Optimum location:
The photo transmitter-receiver unit can be mounted on the wind-
shield from within the automobile to monitor changes in the
reflectivity of the windshield as rain droplets fall on it. The
reflective sensor, for instance, requires a function gener-
atodtransmitter circuit to trigger the photo diode and a photo
transistor receiver circuit for capturing the reflected light
intensity.
b. Audio sensor. An electret microphone could be used to
listen to the rain drops as they fall on a metallic panel such as the
roof of a vehicle. However, there is considerable ambient noise
encountered in this approach, and cancellation of ambient noise
will be required. A frequency selective filter for the microphone
will be needed to remove ambient audio noise and pass through
only useful splattering sound of rain as useful information.
c. Conductivity sensor. A conductive sensor is an approxi-
mately one-inch-square plate coated with a simple pair of con-
ductors whose terminal resistance changes with ambient
dampness or wetness. This is actually a very simple idea that
works very well. As will be presented in more detail in this
article, the signal from the conductive sensor needs to be elec-
tronically decomposed into “DC” and “AC” components via
low-pass and high-pass filters. Note that it might be possible to
evaporate the rain as well as melt icelsnow, if high current was
designed to sufficiently heat the conductive sensor to an appro-
priate high temperature.
Sensor Fusion. These three sensors emulate the basic inputs
to visual, auditory, and tactile sensory capab
driver. The information from these sensors can be fused together
to complement each other and deduce the conditions of drizzle,
rain, or snow. Decision can then be made to control the wiper
and washer accordingly.
Control Decision. As demonstrated in this article, fuzzy logic
[6-lo] is a good approach for implementing a knowledge-based
logic to control the wiper system. It is also useful for handling
system uncertainties and nonlinearities, without the use of a
sophisticated mathematical model. Sensor fusion and control
decisions can be carried out using intuitive reasoning via fuzzy
logic. Another powerful tool is the method of neural networks,
which is not considered here but will be investigated in the future.
Microcontroller HardwardSoftware. The real-time proc-
essing and fusion require the hardware and software of a micro-
controller. In this project, we found that the combination of an
M68HC11EB microcontroller board hardware and a PC-based
29
FIDE (Fuzzy Inference Development
Environment) software provide a con-
venient method for converting the
fuzzy logic concept into a stand-alone
application.

Standard Components of a Wiper

The existing components of a O"f C12 0 . Q l u

standard wiper are briefly outlined be- 50k

,
l"P"l C.IL"I.

RIQ
low:
Output Signal Conditioning. A
microprocessor is used to control the
external analog power electronic cir-
cuitry that drive the windshield wiper
motor and washer fluid motor.
Wiper Motor and Mechanism.
There are numerous types of wiper mo-
tor mechanisms made by various manu-
facturers. Almost all wiper assemblies
are equipped with special cams for indi-
cating the home position for the wiper
mechanisms.
Motor and Pump' Fig. 2 Electronics hardware components for smart wipel:
- a variety of motorlpump
Again, - - assem-
blies can be found from various manufacturers.
human observation-action-decision process in operating a wiper.
Other Issues As mentioned in the Introduction, the scope of the project was
to develop an automatic windshield wiper for a race car.
Many other important issues to be considered include:
Mounting and Packaging. One of the main issues in devel-
opment of a stand-alone application system is the packaging and Hardware Configuration and Implementation
mounting of the sensors and controller, which involves brackets, The implemented hardware components for the smart wiper
wiring, and locations. The search for optimum setting requires for this project is shown in Fig. 2 and outlined below:
careful considerations and innovative design. Control Panel. A Control Panel was designed with a three-
Cost Consideration. The additional cost of sensors, signal position switch for selecting Automatic I Manual I Off modes and
conditioners, and microcontrollers will be added to that of a a Washer fluid push button for the wiper.
standard wiper system. a. Automatic mode: In the Automatic mode the smart control-
Reliability Consideration. Reliability of the smart wiper ler will turn on the wiper as needed. The smart controller will
sensor andlor sensor fusion technique must be evaluated through decide the intermittent interval and select a "Low" or "High"
extensive and thorough testing under various extreme weather speed for the wiper motor. Note: Any time the automatic mode
conditions. is selected the smart controller will turn on the washer motor for
For research purposes, one should attempt to investigate all four cycles and turn it off at the fifth cycle. This will tell the
potential desirable components for developing a smart wiper. drivers that helshe has selected the automatic mode.
Under project resource constraints of time and cost, however, one b. Manual mode: In the Manual mode, a driver can select the
might single out only the minimum number of components for intermittent delay interval for low-speed wiper action, constant
development as well as production consideration. It has been low-speed action, and constant high-speed action. Note: For the
estimated that a mass-produced smart wiper unit might cost a
few U S . dollars for minimal component specification to several
dollars for maximal specifications.

Automatic Wiper With Conductive Rain Sensor

Fuzzy Logic Scheme
In this project, the above three types of sensors were tested
and investigated for possible use in detecting rain condition as
well as sensor fusion. Because of the project constraints, how-
ever, we have selected to investigate only the approach using a
conductive rain sensor and fuzzy logic inference for controlling
the wiper. Hence, the scope is more focused and limited than the
broader capabilities described above. The concept of multi-sen-
sor fusion and more advanced control decision will be conducted Fig. 3. Motor, gear box switches, conductive sensor and
in a future extension. Fuzzy logic is employed to imitate the microcontroller hardware for smart wiper:

30 IEEE Control Systems

race car version, the Manual mode will only operate on the motor
at a constant high speed.
c. Offmode: In the Off mode the controller will deactivate
and park the wiper.
d. Washer fluid: A push button is used to activate the washer
fluid motor and also operate the wiper motor for a duration of
four cycles.
Conductive Rain Sensor Characteristics. Two important
characteristics of the conductive rain sensor were observed. The
“dc” characteristic of sensor conductivity varies accordingly
with the average wetness on the sensor plate, and the “ac”
characteristic changes when fresh drops of water fall on the
sensor. These characteristics can be exploited to detect the wet-
ness of rain and droplet frequency.
Input/ Output Signal Conditioning. A amplifier circuit was
designed to extract the dc level component of the conductive
sensor characteristics; the output of this filter would indicate the
average ambient wetness of the rain condition. Next a band-pass
Knowledge Representation
IF-THEN Fuzzy Logic Rules
Fuzzy Membership Functions
Measured Decision
Inputs Outcome
Fig. 4. Fuzzy logic decision process.
Table 1. General Linguistic Rules for Controlling a Wiper
~
filter with a cut-in comer frequency of 0.36 Hz and cut-off comer
frequency of 16 Hz was used to extract the ac level characteristics
from the sensor by removing the ambient wetness and undesir-
able high frequency noise. Output signal conditioning FET driver
circuits for the wiper and washer are also shown in Fig. 2.
Microcontroller. The M68HC 1 1EB Evaluation Board (EB)
was used as a target system for implementing and debugging the
control scheme for the wiper. The EB is supplied with monitor/
debugger firmware (BUFFALO), including a one-line assem-
blerldisassembler. An RS-232-compatible terminal or a host
computer can be used to download object code and to enter
run-time commands. The wire-wrap area on the EB is available
for implementing additional circuitry; in this case, we needed
signal conditioning and device driver circuits. In the FIDE im-
plementation, the fuzzy logic callable functions resides in the
EPROM of the microcontroller, and the I/O programs reside in
the EEPROM.
Packaging and Mounting. Fig. 3 shows the hardware of the
Smart Wiper and the packaging and the packaging box. The PC
laptop computer was used for programming development only.
Fuzzy Logic Scheme
In this section, we will only present the fuzzy logic scheme
used for controlling the speed of the wiper motor. Control of the
washer motor/pump for the wiper was not a requirement at the
time of the project, and was to be operated manually. The fuzzy
logic scheme [6-101 for the wiper is the Mamdani-type scheme
as shown in Fig. 4. The measured inputs for the logic are
comprised of two variables:
Rain: The “dc” output component from the sensor signal
conditioning unit; it reflects the wetness condition of the rain..
Intensity: The “ac” output component of
the sensor signal conditioning unit; it reflects

the droplet frequency of the rain.

IF it is not raining or drizzling, THEN the wiper should be set to “Off.”
The decision outcomes are output variables
IF it is drizzling lightly, THEN use a long delay interval setting on the wiper. defined as
Speed: Determines the wiping speed of the
IF it is drizzling heavily, THEN use a short delay interval setting on the wiper. wiper motor.
IF it is raining lightly, THEN use the continuous low speed setting in the wiper. Interval: Determines the intermittent delay
interval for the wiper.
-
IF it is raining heavily, THEN use the continuous high speed setting on the wiper. Knowledge Representation
Rule Base. A basic reason-
, ing used by a driver in adjust-
ing the control knobs for a
wiper in an automobile may be
Antecedent Consequence expressed linguistically as
Rule 1: IF Rain is Dry and Intensity is Light, THEN set Speed to Zero and Interval to Long. shown in Table 1.
This set of linguistic IF-
Rule 2: IF Rain is Dry and Intensity is Medium, THEN set Speed to Low and Interval to Long, THEN rules can be readily un-
Rule 3: IF Rain is Dry and Intensity is Heavy, THEN set Speed to Low and Interval to Short derstood by a human. But it is
highly ambiguous for com-
Rule 4: IF Rain is Drizzle and Intensity is Light, THEN set Speed to Low and Interval to Long. puter operation since it does
1
Rule 5: IF Rain is Drizzle andlntensity is Medium, THEN set Speed to Low and Interval to Short 1 not stipulate any numerical
values or algorithm. A means
Rule 6: IF Rain is Drizzle and Intensity is Heavy, THEN set Speed to Low and Interval to Zero. for translating these linguistic
Rule 7: IF Rain is Wet and lntensitv is Light, THEN set Sueed to Low and interval to Short.
rules into computer codes is to
use fuzzy logic and fuzzy set
1
Rule 8: IF Rain is Wet and Intensity is Medium, THEN set Speed to Low and Interval to Zero. 1 theory [6-101. The above deci-
sions can be more systemati-
Rule 9: IF Rain is Wet and Intensity is Heavy, THEN set Sped to High and Interval to Zero.

December 2996 31
 sets orfum labels ((Dry,Drizzle, Wet)or (Light,Medium, Heavy)).
pSlow(Speea) The degrees of associations are simply given by the values
pFast(Speed)
p ~ v y ( R o,) pDDrizzle(R0) , pwet(R0)
pLght(T0) , pMedium(1O) , pHeavy(I0) .
0.5
Inference
'0 20 40 60 80 0 2 4 6 8 Fuzzy logic inference is a process where the strength, impli-
Rain Speed cation, and contribution of each of the fuzzy logic rules is
evaluated. The inference mechanism chosen for the wiper logic
is as follows. Applying the product method [ l o ] ,the strengths
(A:'s) of the antecedents in the nine rules are given by
A1 = PDry(R0) * pLight(I0)
A2 = PD.O.~(RO) * FMedium(I0)
A3 = p~ry(R01* pHeavy(I0)
Intensity Interval I A4 = pDrizzLe(R0) * /J-Light(Io)
(3)
Fig. 5 Membershipfunctions offuzzy variables. A5 = pDLDrizzle(R0) * pMedium(10)
A6 = pDrizzLe(R0)* pfhavy(10)
rewriting the above fuzzy rules as a set of fuzzy logic rules (see
Table 2). A7 pWet(R0) * p~ight(10)
In setting up the fuzzy logic rules, we have defined Rain and A8 = pWet(R0) * pil/ledium(IO)
Intensity as the Input Fuzzy Variables; Speed and Interval as the A9 = p~et(R01 * pHeavy(I0)
Output Fuzzy Variables. Each of these fuzzy variables is associ- If we also apply product method to the consequence, the
ated with descriptors or labels such as Dry, Drizzle, Wet, Light, implied individual contributions (in the form of membership
Medium, Heavy, Stop, Low,High, Zero, Short, and Long, which functions) of the speed and interval rules are given by
are the Fuzzy Sets. Fig. 4 shows the Membership Functions that
define the degree or extent to which the fuzzy variables belong psriSpeed) = A i * pstop(Speed)
to the fuzzy sets. psz(Speed) = A2 * pLow(Speed)
Data Base. The membership functions for the input variables ps3(Speed) = A3 * p.Low(Speed)
Rain and Intensity are defined as ps.i(Speed) = A4 * pLow(Speed) (4)
pDry(Ruin)= Trapezoid(0,0, 10,50) p s s ( S p e 4 = A5 * pLow(Speed)
pDrizzle(Rain)= Trupezoid(l0, 50, 50, 90) pss(Spee4 = A6 * pLow(Spee4
pwet(Rain)= Trapezoid(50,90, 100, 100) (1) ps7(Speed) = AI * pLow(Speed)
pLight(Zntensity)= Trapezoid(0,0, 0, 100)
pss(Spee4 = A8 * pLow(Spee4
pMedium(IntensityY)= Trapezoid(0, 100, 100,200)
ps9(Speed) = A9 * pHigh(Speed)
p,yeavy(lntensity)= Trapezoid( 100, 200, 250, 250)
and
and the output variables Speed and Interval as
pzl(IntewuZ)= A1 * pbng(lntewaZ)
pstop(Speed)= Trapezoid(0,0,0.8, 1 )
pLow(Speed)= Trapezoid(4,4.5,5,5.5) piz(lnterva1) = A2 * pLong(lntervaZ)
pHigh(Speed)= Trapezoid(9,9.5, 10, 10) (2) p13(ZntervaZ) = A3 * pshor&tewal)
pzero(Interval)= Trapezoid(0,0, 0, 6 ) p14(Zntewal)= A4 * pbng(Zntewal)
pshort(Interval)= Trapezoid(0,6, 12, 18) p15(Interval)= A5 * pshort(Intewal) (5)
pLons(Interval)= Trapezoid(l2, 18, 20, 20) p16(Interval) = A6 * pzero(lntewal)
where Trapezoid denotes a unit height trapezoidal function pn(lnterva1) = AI * pShort(lnterval)
whose break points on the abscissa are defined by the four
p~(Intewu1) = A8 * pze,(1ntewal)
arguments. Fig. 5 illustrates the membership functions described
by Equations ( 1 ) and (2).Note that the ranges (the universes of p19(Intewal) = A9 * pzero(lnterval)
discourse) for the input and output variable are scaled and tuned Equations (4) and (5) represent the contributions of the individual
according to hardware specifications. These membership func- fuzzy logic rules shown in Table 2.
tions were determined by trial-and-success optimization through
extensive experimental tests (next section). Defuzzification
Defuzzification is a stage where the individual contributions
Fuzzification are combined to produce an overall outcome for the fuzzy logic
The input variables,Rain (wetness) and Intensity (density), will decision. The mechanism used for the wiper logic is as follows.
receive numerical readings from the sensor and signal conditioning Using the method of Maximum on Sum, the overall implied
units, say, Rain = Ro and Intensity =lo. The process of fnzzification Wiper Speed is given by the Peakspeed, which corresponds to
is to assign a degree (a.k.a. an extent), of how closely a measured the peak or maximum of the aggregated or summed individual
input value (Rain = Ro and Intensity = Io) is associated to thefum implied speed function

32 IEEE Control Systems

 Translate linguistic productiodlogic rules into a fuzzy
10 logic inference system.
8 Convert the fuzzy logic into assembly code and download
it to the 68HC11 target system using FIDE.
6
Execute fuzzy logic control to test the outcome using
4 integrated hardwarehoftware smart wiper system.
2 Fine-tune the membership functions and/or alter the logic.
Once the fuzzy code is assembled in the PC, it can be
0
0 100 embedded into a main microcontroller unit (MCU) program.
FIDE employs a simple code insertion technique shown in Fig.
7. The first block of code is the pre-processing block that reads
300 -0 the analog to digital representation of conditioned external sen-
sor signals. The second block is the fuzzy logic routine that
20
reads the acquired data, evaluate the membership functions,
execute the fuzzy logic operations to determine the individual
15
strengths and outputs of the rules, and compute the maximum
10 location and center of gravity of the aggregated outputs. The
third block sends the results to the output routine, which
5 drives the actuators.
For our case, the fuzzy logic outputs the values for Speed and
0 Interval. The Speed determines wiping action (High-Slow-Stop)
0 100
for the wiper. A pulse modulation routine was used to interpret
the Interval and generate the intermittent time delay between
300 -0 wiping actions.

Fig. 6. Fuzzy logic decision map. Testing and Optimization

Test Vehicle and Facility. To evaluate the smart wiper sys-
tem, the fuzzy logic microcontroller was hooked up to the wiper
0
motor of a passenger car in a vehicle research laboratory at the
pSpeedSum(Speed)= School of Engineering and Computer Science, Oakland Univer-
i=l sity, Rochester, MI. To facilitate testing, a portable shower head
fixture was constructed to simulate rain and drizzle conditions.
Using the method of Center of Gravity,the overall implied Wiper Simulated light, medium, and heavy rain conditions were used
Interval is given by to testing and calibrate the microcontroller decisions for the
smart wiper.
Optimization. To modify the fuzzy logic code in the micro-
controller, it is necessary to erase the previously transferred code,
Interval,, = then transfer the new code to the microcontroller embedded
EPROM. Although this process can be a little cumbersome and
pIidInterval
time-consuming, it is a convenient way for developing a stand-
i=l (7) alone, real-time microcontroller-based fuzzy logic controller.
Optimization of the smart wiper performance was carried out via
In summary, Equations (1) through (7) define the steps for extensive testing in this manner.
evaluating the fuzzy logic in Table 2. The decision maps for the
fuzzy logic are shown in Fig. 6.

Microcontroller Realization of Fuzzy Wiper Logic

FIDE Hardware and Software Development
The Fuzzy Inference Development Environment (FIDE) is a and light rain condi-
powerful PC-based software tool that allows users to easily edit, Other MCU
tion. The subplots in routines
simulate, debug, and tune the membership functions and rules of
a fuzzy logic application. To use the FIDE, a user must under- the figure show
(l)the“dc”(rain wet- Fuzzy code
stand the physical system and its control requirements. The fuzzy
logic controller was developed in stages as follows.
Identify the inputs and outputs for the controller.
ness) component from
conductivesensor signal
( 2 ) the “ac” (rain in-
pqfj Other MCU
routines

Express experience and expertise in the form of rules, and

define a set of preliminary membership functions based on tensity) components
best guesses for the fuzzy variables in the antecedents and
consequences of the rules.

December 1996 33
 [3] Y.-K. Chin, A. Kade, J. Kowalik, andD. Graham, “Electronic Windshield
Wiper System 11: Control and Sensitivity Study,” Int. J. of Vehicle Design,
vol. 12, no. 2, 1991, pp. 183.196.
[4] Electric Wiper Motor Specijcations, Sprague Devices Inc., Michigan
4C signal
35 40 45 50 City, IN.
I
[5]Windshield WiperSystems, United Technology Automotive-Motor Sys-
tems Inc., Columbus, MS.
f [6] D. Warbutton, “How to Design Fuzzy Logic Controllers,” Machine
01 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Wiper Motor Delay lntelval Design, Nov. 26, 1992, pp. 92-93.
20
15 [7] R.R. Yager and L.A. Zadeh (eds.), An Introduction to Fuzzy Logic
;
0
10 Applications in Intelligent Systems, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993.
5
01
4
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
[8] L.-X. Wang, Adaptive Fuuy Systems and Control: Design and Stability
Wiper Mobr Speed Analysis, Prentice-Hall, 1994.
‘1
[9] D. Driankov, H. Hellendoom, and M. Reinfrank, An Introduction to Fuzzy
Control, Springer-Verlag, 1993.
1

1; 2; 25 3b 3; 4b
I
45 50
1
[lo] T. Terano, K. Asai, and M. Sugeno, Fuzzy Systems Theory and Its
Time in seconds
Applications, Academic Press, 1992.
No Rain Heavy Rain Medium Rain Light Rain [ l l ] M68HC11 Manual, Motorola, Inc., 1995.
Condition Condition Condition Condition
[12] FIDE Manual, Aptronix Inc., 1995.
Fig. 8. Experimental test results from actual fuzzy logic-based smart
automatic windshield wiper
Ka C. Cheok is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems
Engineering at Oakland University, Rochester, MI. He received his B.S.E.E.
(3) the command for the wiper delay interval from the FL in 1977 from the University of Malaya, and his M.S. in electrical and
controller computer engineering in 1979 and his Ph.D. in systems engineering in 1982
(4) the command for the wiper motor speed from the FL from Oakland University. Cheok is active in the research areas of computer-
controller controlled systems involving artificial intelligence and computer visualiza-
As can be seen, the performance of the smart wiper resulting tion. His contributions include the development of heuristics search, fuzzy
logic and neural network techniques for guidance of autonomous robotic
from these outcome was quite satisfactory. The wiper motor is
vehicles, and control of active suspension, automotive traction and tracking
off when there is no rain. Then in a fuzzy sense, it operates at full systems for the automotive and defense industries. He has published more
speed with zero delay interval when the rain is heavy, at low than 90 technical joumal and conference articles. He received a state of
speed with short delay intervals when the rain is medium, and Michigan-sponsored Teaching Excellence Award from Oakland University
low speed with long delay interval when the rain is light. in 1990.

Conclusions K. Kobayashi received his B S in electrical engineer-

Performance of a control system is an ultimate issue in the ing from Hosei University, Japan, in 1989, and his M.S.
controller design. The design of a fuzzy logic controller uses and Ph.D. in systems engineenng from Hosei Univer-
sity in 1991 and 1994, respectively From 1994 to 1996,
intuitive reasoning and does not necessarily require detailed
he was a research associate at Oakland University He
mathematical modeling of the plant dynamics to be controlled. is currently a lecturer at Hosei University His research
Unavailability of a good plant dynamic model makes it difficult area includes vehicle traction control, vehicle absolute
to use computer simulation to accurately predict and tune the speed measurment using fuzzy logic, and sensor fusion
performance of the fuzzy control system. In such situations, a for automotive applications
way to evaluate the performance is to build a physical hardware
simulator, implement fuzzy logic using a target controller board, Sandro Scacciais the president and CEO of TechnoRe-
test its behaviors, and tune the system until the desired output is search Inc He received h ~ Bs S E E and B S C E from
Oakland University in 1988 and his M S E in 1993 He
achieved, as we have done in this project.
is a member of the SAE and IEEE.
This project successfully demonstrates how fuzzy logic can
be used to implement a smart wiper system that uses a conductive
rain sensor. FIDE was used as a convenient systematic tool to
implement the fuzzy logic for automatic operation of a wiper.
Future extension of the effort would be to conduct more extensive
research and development with multi-sensor fusion.
Giamberto Scaccia is a senior electronic engineer at
Magneti Mare111 U.S.A. He received the B.S.E.E. and
References B.S C E from Oakland University in 1988 and his
[l] B.S. Hsu and S.F. Ling, “Windshield Wiper System Design,” Int. J. of
M.S.E. from Wayne State University in 1994. He is a
Vehicle Design, vol. 11, no. 1, 1990, pp. 63-78.
member of the SAE and IEEE
[21 Y-K. Chin, A. Kade, J. Kowalik, andD. Graham, “Electronic Windshield
Wiper System I: Modeling and Validation,” Int. J. of Vehicle Design, vol. 12,
no. 2, 1991, pp. 175-182.

34 IEEE Control Systems