Global warming is a major concern today and countries are joining hands to arrest this alarming threat collectively. At 400 ppm, the earth’s atmosphere has crossed a record level of carbon dioxide emission. India currently contributes 6.81 % of CO2 emissions globally, placed fourth after China, US and the European Union. It’s a number that will be tough to reverse, but more importantly, it must be stopped from climbing higher. Twenty Two Motors explores deep into the automotive future to suggest how smart vehicles will change the way we travel.
Pollution isn’t about the first world or developing world; it’s a condition that will impact our next generation. The key takeaway? Particulate matter from air pollution is a problem in the present, especially in cities where gas-powered vehicles are concentrated and creating dense levels of pollution. We must do everything we can right now to stop pollution in its tracks.
Carbon footprint refers to the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere due to individual, organisations or community actions. While governments and environmental organisations are undertaking major projects to curb carbon emission, every single person has to be equally accountable and responsible to this cause. Today’s economies are dramatically changing, triggered by development in emerging markets, the accelerated rise of new technologies, sustainability policies, and changing consumer preferences around ownership. Digitisation and new business models have revolutionised other industries, and automotive will be no exception.
Our society is at a tipping point. We need bold solutions and a mind-set for change for the next generation. It’s time to rethink how the growing cities of tomorrow distribute, manage and experience energy. Electric transport is not only the future, but is happening right now. The next wave of innovation is the integration of electric vehicles into the energy grid. EV charging and storage will be part of the energy-internet.
In less than a decade, it will become very difficult for consumers to find petrol stations, spares or mechanics knowledgeable enough to fix combustion engines. Fossil-fuelled vehicles will vanish within next eight years – and citizens will have no choice but to invest in electric vehicles or similar technologies. This is because the cost of electric vehicles – including cars, bikes and scooters – will ultimately decrease, as they are ten times cheaper to maintain than cars that run on fossil fuels and have a near-zero marginal cost of fuel, resulting in the collapse of the petroleum industry.
The fast pace of innovation has been great for consumers, who get ever-faster access to cutting-edge technology at ever-lower prices. And it’s been great for the auto industry, because consumers’ expectation of innovation is coupled with their expectation that they’ll be upgrading devices fairly regularly.
Sophisticated technologies bring in a slew of both tactic as well as strategic transitions in our professional as well as personal lives. Latest technologies significantly impact and instigate all kinds of vehicles to be smarter in their function so that driving becomes simpler and safer. And at the same time, travel becomes productive for occupants.
PIONEERING TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEXT-GENERATION SMART VEHICLES
Vehicle-to-Cloud Connectivity
Clouds are being positioned as the best-in-class infrastructure (servers, storage arrays and network modules) for effectively and efficiently hosting a variety of platforms. Integrated development environments (IDEs) and rapid application development (RAD) tools. System takes full advantage of various sensors and real time connectivity with cloud, which have been integrated with the vehicle. Servers analyse data through complex data analytic algorithms and suggest any upcoming service requirement, navigation, apps, etc.
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Connectivity
This is the real-time exchange of decision-enabling data among vehicles. Such kinds of dynamic data exchange at a critical point and place offer ample opportunities for significant improvements, especially on the vehicle safety aspect. By interchanging valuable vehicle data regarding its speed, direction, position, and location dynamically, the much-anticipated V2V communication capability enables vehicles to sense any impending threats and hazards with a 360° view and visualisation of vehicles in synchronisation with other vehicles’ position.
This vehicular interaction results in issuing appropriate advisories to drivers to take counter measures proactively and pre-emptively, to completely avoid or to mitigate the intensity of crashes. There are specific sensors and GPS systems collaboratively working to arrive at accurate data (latitude, longitude, etc.) to make cars self-, surroundings- and situation-aware.
The vision for V2V connectivity is that eventually each vehicle on the road will be able to connect and communicate with one another beneficially. The data that are getting generated and transmitted in time facilitates the production and delivery of next-generation applications for enhanced safety. The much-anticipated V2V communications will come handy in drastically reducing fatal and even minor accidents on the road.
Field Oriented Control (FOC)
Field Oriented Control is one of the methods used in variable frequency drives or variable speed drives to control the torque (and thus the speed) of three-phase AC electric motors by controlling the current. With FOC, the torque and the flux can be controlled independently. FOC provides faster dynamic response than is required for applications. There is no torque ripple, and smoother, accurate motor control can be achieved at low and high speeds using FOC.
The torque of an induction motor is at a maximum, when the stator and the rotor magnetic fields are orthogonal to each other. In FOC, the stator currents are measured and adjusted so that the angle between the rotor and stator flux is 90° to achieve the maximum torque. FOC also known as vector control, and provides better efficiency at higher speeds than sinusoidal control. It also guarantees optimised efficiency even during transient operation by perfectly maintaining the stator and rotor fluxes.
Geofencing
Geofencing is a feature in a software programme that uses the global positioning system (GPS) or radio frequency identification (RFID) to define geographical boundaries. It allows an administrator to set-up triggers so when a device enters (or exits) the boundaries defined by the administrator, an alert is issued. Many geofencing applications incorporate Google Earth, allowing administrators to define boundaries on top of a satellite view of a specific geographical area. Other applications define boundaries by longitude and latitude or through user-created and Web-based maps.
Geofencing gives complete flexibility and solutions in setting-up real time alarms to inform of unauthorised vehicle movements and other exceptions. The geofencing system allows setting-up a series of geographic zones together with the time based rules of when vehicles should be inside or outside each zone.
Electronic Braking System (EBS)
Electronic activation of the EBS braking components reduces response and build-up times in brake cylinders. This in turn reduces braking distance by several meters, which can be decisive in some situations. The integrated ABS function ensures driving stability and steerability throughout the braking procedure.
Kinetic Energy Recovery System
A kinetic energy recovery system (often known simply as KERS, or kers) is an automotive system for recovering a moving vehicle’s kinetic energy under braking. The recovered energy is stored in a reservoir (for example a flywheel or high voltage batteries) for later use under acceleration.
Sensors
In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, or sub-system. Its purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information to other electronics, frequently a processor. A sensor is always used with other electronics, whether as simple as a light or as complex as a computer. Some sensors used in smart vehicles include:
Position Sensor/ Resolver Sensor – A resolver is a type of rotary electrical transformer used for measuring degrees of rotation. It is considered an analogue device, and has digital counterparts such as the digital resolver, rotary (or pulse) encoder.
Current Sensor – A current sensor is a device that detects electric current in a wire, and generates a signal proportional to that current. The generated signal could be analogue voltage or current or even a digital output.
Measurement Sensors – Measurement sensors have a linear transfer function. The sensitivity is defined as the ratio between the output signal and measured property. A sensor measures quantity and has a voltage output. The sensitivity is a constant with the units [V/K] and is the slope of the transfer function. Converting the sensor’s electrical output (for example V) to the measured units (for example K) requires dividing the electrical output by the slope (or multiplying by its reciprocal). In addition, an offset is frequently added or subtracted.
CONCLUSION
With the faster proliferation and penetration of promising connectivity technologies, vehicles are being empowered to have newer capabilities through seamless and spontaneous interactions with other vehicles on the road, vehicle manufacturers and mechanics, insurance providers, product vendors, etc. With cloud connectivity, a bevy of nimbler services and applications can be made available to riders. Besides making riding simpler, safer, and satisfying, could be more productive through e-learning.
AUTHOR
PARVEEN KHARB is CEO and Co-Founder at Twenty Two Motors Pvt Ltd in Manesar (India)
(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the official views and position of this publication)
By Parveen Kharb
Source: https://autotechreview.com
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