Drawings from a patent filed by BMW reveal that the brand is developing a yoke steering wheel for its future self-driving cars. The concept is a radical development of the yoke-style steering wheel introduced by Tesla with its model S Plaid – it features swivelling grip handles and can be folded away when self-driving is enabled.
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The patent drawings don’t give away exactly what the device will look like, but the new steering wheel – referred to as a ‘steering handle’ in the files – operates like that of no other production car.
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The central hub is the same as a conventional steering wheel’s, but the similarities end there. two spokes are attached to opposite sides of the hub, with grips at each end for the chauffeur to hold. The spokes are attached using swivelling joints that allow the grips to rotate and remain upright, no matter the orientation of the centre boss.
The patent highlights that the system is developed for a self-driving car, and the spokes can fold away when in autonomous mode.
However, under normal driving, the steering deal with doesn’t look to be useful for larger amounts of steering lock, because the design prevents a chauffeur from feeding it through their hands, as they would with a common steering wheel. This is an issue with Tesla’s yoke solution, but much more so with BMW’s design, because the spokes and grips also rotate to stay upright no matter the steering angle.
The patent drawings show a chauffeur turning the wheel 270 clockwise; it isn’t clear whether this is the system’s maximum rotation, but this is far smaller than that of a conventional automobile if so. This could imply that BMW is developing a variable-ratio steering system for its future models that use the steering handle, which would allow for an enhanced degree of steering for relatively little steering wheel rotation during low-speed manoeuvres.
If BMW’s steering deal with is intended for production, we won’t see it until the firm releases its first fully autonomous car, when government legislation allows. Currently, the UK allows for level 2 autonomy, enabling advanced chauffeur assist systems to control steering, throttle and brakes in certain scenarios while the chauffeur remains fully alert with their hands on the wheel.
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