A scientometric survey of brake pedal and pedal mechanism research in automobiles: Trends, patterns, and future directions

This scientometric analysis of 87 publications provides a detailed and structured overview of the research trends and improvements in the study of automatic brake pedal systems, after a thorough evaluation of these publications, which were selected from the Scopus database using special databases like brake pedal, pedal ratio, and pedal mechanism. It tracks the evolution of research advancements over time. Three primary, interconnected research streams have been identified by the analysis that shapes the modern studies in this domain. The first stream focuses on the mechanical improvement of the pedal assemblies. The second and rapidly growing research stream survey focuses on the integration of brake pedal assemblies into vehicles' structure, especially for electric and automated vehicles. Human vehicle interaction (HVI) is highlighted in the third research stream. This area of study focuses on the ergonomics, biometrics of the driver, role of pedal feedback in situational awareness, and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). The analysis shows an evident progress from the studies focusing on only significant mechanical parameters of the system to a system-scale approach that integrates mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and control systems. This paper focuses on summarizing these major findings to obtain a basic reference for the field. It highlights the current state of research, emphasizes major studies and future scope of research, including adaptive pedal systems and evaluation of pedal feel in software-defined vehicles.