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DRIVESTICK®: THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN DRIVING CONTROL

The world's first practical joystick to replace the steering wheel and pedals for electric vehicles

The Fossil Fuel Car
The steering wheel and foot pedals have been the standard driving controls for the fossil fuel car for over 100 years. Arms and legs, moving a hand wheel and foot pedals, operating hydraulic and pneumatic machinery - all these components have similar inertia and quickness, so they're all well speed matched. But the fossil fuel car is rapidly becoming a relic of the past, and the steering wheel and pedals will soon be relics also.

The Electric Vehicle (EV)

The modern EV, with electric steering, propulsion, and braking, is finally about to replace the fossil fuel car. The EV's ultra-responsive electric motors can provide exhilarating performance, but they're impeded by the clumsiness of the obsolete steering wheel and pedals. The EV needs a quicker, nimbler, more intuitive control that can advance driving to the next level and make it feel more like piloting a spaceship than wrestling a hand wheel and stomping on foot pedals. A drive-by-wire control like a joystick will accomplish this by taking better advantage of the EV's quick electric motors, but the right type of joystick is crucial.


TwistDriveTM for Twisty Roads: The DriveStick®

Carmakers have been exhibiting concept cars with arm controlled tilt joysticks since 1954, but they've finally realized that this joystick's two independent axes are inadequate to provide both propulsion control and high precision steering. A new type of joystick overcomes this problem: the 3-axis, wrist controlled twist joystick. The DriveStick is a drive-by-wire, 3-axis, twist joystick which uses a revolutionary technology called TwistDrive to provide quick steering and propulsion control for safely carving up twisty roads in a high performance EV. Using modern torque motor, electronic fail-operate, and bilateral teleoperation technologies, the DriveStick replaces the steering wheel, stalks, and pedals while providing steering precision and road feedback equivalent to the conventional steering wheel. TwistDrive enables quick, high resolution control at all vehicle speeds without the need for variable ratio steering, speed adaptive steering, or other auxiliary methods. And the bilateral teleoperation algorithms in the DriveStick ensure safe, stable steering through accurate road feedback.

Safety Sooner or Later

The advent of autonomous driving is rapidly increasing automated driving safety. With the U.S. public health crisis of 4.5M crashes resulting in 2M injuries and 34K deaths annually, it is becoming increasingly urgent to develop a safer manual control. The DriveStick will provide increased safety through its unique features: it's more compact than a steering wheel and pedals, allowing more room for the driver and the airbags; it's simpler and more intuitive due to its single integrated control; and the quicker, nimbler operation of the DriveStick makes it easier for the driver to avoid a crash.

The photos and video below show the DriveStick Mechanical Prototype mounted in a Tesla Model Y's console cup holder. The Production Model DriveStick will be integrated directly into the console and the vehicle electronics. Click the link at the top if you'd like to try the Mechanical Prototype in your vehicle's cupholder. The Mechanical Prototype makes it easy to visualize how much more fun driving will be in the future.

Brian Clause. DriveStick inventor. Brian Clause. DriveStick inventor. Chief Executive Manager, Clause Technology LLC.
Clause Technology and the DriveStick
  • Clause Technology's mission: replace the steering wheel and pedals in all new electric vehicles with the DriveStick to increase driving safety.
  • The patented design integrates control of steering, propulsion, & braking, plus most stalk functions, including horn, turn signals, autonomy, and high beams, for fun, intuitive driving.
  • The DriveStick combines TwistDrive with torque motors, electronic fail-operate, and bilateral teleoperation to create the world's first practical joystick for driving.
  • A Functional Performance Description defines functional performance characteristics for rapid prototyping and full scale development support.

Protected by U.S. patents 9,823,686 B1 & 9,889,874 B1

IP available for licensing and full scale product development