Group-Theoretic Bilateral Symmetry Analysis for Automotive Steering Systems: A Physics-Informed Deep Learning Framework for Symmetry-Breaking Fault Pattern Recognition

Modern automotive steering systems exhibit inherent bilateral symmetry characteristics that can be mathematically described using group theory. When component failures occur, these systems experience quantifiable symmetry-breaking patterns that serve as diagnostic indicators. This research presents an approach that combines group-theoretic principles with machine learning for automotive steering system fault diagnosis. The study introduces a physics-informed neural network architecture that leverages the mathematical structure of bilateral symmetry for enhanced fault detection capabilities. Through systematic analysis of eight distinct fault categories including sensor malfunctions, actuator degradation, control system failures, and mechanical wear patterns, the proposed framework demonstrates that symmetry-breaking signatures provide reliable diagnostic features. The framework integrates symmetric convolutional operations with transformer-based attention mechanisms, optimized through physics-constrained particle swarm algorithms. Experimental validation using both simulation data (12,500 scenarios) and physical test bench measurements shows classification accuracy of 94.2% compared to traditional CNN-LSTM (86.2%), SVM (78.9%), and Random Forest (82.7%) approaches. The bilateral symmetry analysis achieves 91.8% sensitivity for fault detection in controlled laboratory environments. These results establish the practical viability of group-theoretic methods for automotive diagnostics while providing a foundation for condition-based maintenance strategies in intelligent vehicle systems.