Ford patents manual transmission with robot clutch pedal
Fox News
Ford has patented a manual transmission design that uses a robotic clutch
The design was first reported on by Muscle Cars & Trucks combines a conventional stick shift for changing gears with a pedal that's electronically connected to the clutch.
The driver has the option of either using the pedal to work the clutch via a by-wire connection, or just letting the computer sense when they move the stick and engaging it on its own.
The operation is similar to the old Volkswagen Autostick, which used vacuum actuation but also incorporated a torque converter to allow a vehicle to idle at a standstill, while Ford's setup would just disengage the clutch.
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