ESC – Electronic Stability Control
ESP – Electronic Stability Program
VSC – Vehicle Stability Control
ESC, ESP and VSC are all acronyms for the same system which control the driving dynamics of a vehicle. OEMs use different acronym for the same system for marketing, basic functionality is similar.
ABS and traction control are not enough in curve situations. ESC corrects for under- and over-steering and helps to keep the car on the road. Yaw rate and lateral acceleration measured by an angular rate sensor and lateral acceleration measured by a low-g accelerometer are compared to those calculated from the wheel speed information and the steering wheel angle.
The inertial sensors are either assembled into vehicle as a sensor cluster, or as in most current vehicle designs, integrated into the brake unit or into the airbag ECU. The latest system designs add measurement functionality for Electric Parking Brake EPB, Idle Stop Start ISS, even redundant Yaw sensors for steering control for Automatic Parking and Lane Keep Assistant. The ESC systems have developed from an intelligent ABS-system to central active safety systems of vehicle, which control the stability of the vehicle and provide information multiple systems. In future ESC sensors will have role for various AD and ADAS applications for vehicle positioning and other functionality.
The more accurate the sensor is over the environmental conditions in car, the better the control system. Murata's combined gyro-acceleration sensors SCC2xxx and accelerometers SCA8X0 and SCA21X0 provide reliable and accurate measurement in all assembly locations and measurement directions. Murata is also developing next generation ESC combo sensors which enable high performance, cost efficient integration of functionality for various applications.