Electric urban commuting

Robotics engineers are using a converted a 2001 Scion xB in their study to explore how electric vehicles can be customised to meet an individual’s commuting needs.

The team from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute also wants to see how an electric car’s efficiency can be boosted and its battery-life extended by using artificial intelligence to manage its power.

"Most electric cars today are being designed with top-down engineering to match the performance of gas-powered cars," said associate professor of robotics, Illah Nourbakhsh. "Our goal is to revolutionise urban commuting by taking a different approach — by first analysing the needs, conditions and habits of the daily commutes of actual people and then using this 'commute ecology' to develop electric vehicles suited to each unique commute."

Called ChargeCar, the project is based in Pittsburgh in the US and the researchers calculate that a typical Pittsburgh commuter might save 80 per cent of energy costs by switching from a gas car to an electric car.

To determine the best means to manage its power, the team also calculate that an intelligent electric car controller could recapture 48 per cent of the energy during braking and that a supercapacitor could reduce 56 per cent of the load on the batteries and reduce heating, thus lengthening battery life.

"The number one cost of electric vehicle ownership is the batteries," Nourbakhsh added. "Smart power management will save money initially because it pairs a low-cost battery pack with a small supercapacitor. And it will continue to save money by increasing efficiency and extending battery life."

The ChargeCar project aims to tailor solutions to individual commutes, which involves encouraging owners to convert gas-powered vehicles using existing technology.

Driving miles

Meet the Role Models working in the automotive industry.

You’ve read it. Now review it.

Back to top

Back to top