Industry News: From Suspension to Brakes: TI Discusses How Smart Chassis Transforms the Driving Experience

Electronic Control Gradually Makes Its Way Into Chassis Systems

The chassis governs how a vehicle steers, brakes, and responds to road conditions. As Mark explains in the interview, a smart chassis calls for coordination among suspension, steering and braking systems, yet many functions within these systems still rely on mechanical or hydraulic structures today.

Traditional hydraulic braking serves as a case in point. When the driver presses the brake pedal, pressure is transmitted via the hydraulic system, and braking hardware at the wheels carries out the physical action. The evolution of smart chassis moves progressively toward X by wire technology. Here, "X" can stand for brake, steering or suspension, corresponding to brake by wire, steer by wire and other systems. Driver inputs are captured by sensors, processed by controllers, and then acted upon by electric actuators.

Mark draws an analogy with aircraft fly by wire systems. Aircraft have leveraged this technology for many years, with electronic systems operating components such as rudders and flaps based on control commands. Similar control paradigms are now finding their way into automotive chassis, reshaping how the vehicle’s actuation systems work.

In his view, this transformation has been underway for a long time. Window controls, battery management systems and in vehicle infotainment have all undergone electronic and intelligent upgrades, while the chassis remains a key automotive domain requiring further development. As vehicles gain stronger environmental perception and computing capabilities, the chassis must be able to execute corresponding control commands to support vehicle handling and braking during daily driving and under complex conditions.

Suspension exemplifies this collaborative relationship. The vehicle identifies potholes ahead via its perception system and adjusts suspension status through electronic control to mitigate impacts caused by uneven road surfaces. The "coffee spill prevention" scenario mentioned in the interview describes exactly this desired improvement in ride experience.

EMB is a motor control system subject to safety requirements.

In the interview, Jerry uses brake by wire as an example to illustrate the control workflow from driver input to wheel level actuation: the driver depresses the pedal; sensors detect the pedal position and send brake requests to the central computing system over CAN or Ethernet. After processing the requests, the central computing system issues commands to actuators on each wheel.

One technical solution is EMB, or Electro Mechanical Brake. It generates braking force by driving mechanical assemblies with motors, making motor control a critical part of the braking system.

Jerry compares EMB with traction inverters. Both may adopt three phase motor control, yet EMB operates at a much lower power level than traction systems and must incorporate corresponding safety functions. In terms of semiconductor components, the system requires power devices, motor drivers, microcontrollers and power management ICs to jointly realize motor driving, control and power supply.

At the power stage, Jerry mentions TI’s GaN FETs. For control and power supply, he introduces motor drivers, microcontrollers and power management products that support functional safety design. No specific part numbers are listed in the interview; the focus is on explaining how these components work together to form an EMB system.

Diverse actuation approaches for active suspension
Active suspension also combines electronic control and mechanical actuation, though multiple implementation routes are available. In the interview, Jerry covers electronically controlled air suspension and motor-based active suspension.

Air suspension adjusts chassis conditions by regulating air pressure through valves. Multiple valves in the system need to be driven by matching controllers. Jerry notes that TI’s relevant solutions can control up to approximately 20 valves.

Motor driven active suspension adjusts suspension and vehicle body status via electric motors. TI’s 48V motor control solutions can be used for the design of such systems. These two routes adopt different actuators, generating respective demands for multi channel valve control and motor control.

When these actuation systems are integrated with road perception, the vehicle can adjust suspension before hitting potholes, instead of merely reacting after the vehicle body suffers an impact. For occupants, these technologies ultimately deliver smoother vehicle motion and better ride quality.

Redundancy and diagnostics underpin chassis safety

Electronic control of braking, steering and suspension also makes system safety a major topic in the interview. Jerry states that relevant designs need to adopt redundancy and support functional safety through system diagnostics.

At the component level, TI integrates diagnostic functions into its semiconductor products. These components also come with corresponding functional safety certifications to support system development. The interview does not elaborate on specific certification levels or redundancy architectures, but emphasizes that safety design must run through all chassis control and actuation stages.

Mark believes the most immediate change drivers will experience is more responsive vehicle behaviour and enhanced ride comfort. The smart chassis also provides the actuation foundation for autonomous driving, enabling vehicles to perform steering, braking and suspension adjustments based on perception and computing outputs. The scenario where vehicles take over more driving tasks and allow occupants to read or process emails on the go is a future application described in the interview.