E2V

Semi-autonomous electric vehicles for environmentally and tourism-friendly mobility

Traveling in a park with an electric vehicle, being taken to the desired destination semi-autonomously and receiving up-to-date information at the same time: That is the goal of a project at the University of Kassel funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the research project "Electromobility Concept with Semi-Autonomous Vehicles" (E2V) with a financial volume of 2.91 million euros. It is being coordinated in the Department of Vehicle Systems and Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering at the University of Kassel under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ludwig Brabetz. Four other departments at the University of Kassel and six industrial partners are involved in the project. A pilot project in Europe's largest mountain park, the Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel, will prove the usability of the project results and their practicality.

The greatest challenge facing the automotive industry worldwide is to ensure environmentally compatible individual mobility in the long term. With regard to the targeted use of renewable energies and local zero emissions, great expectations are being placed in electromobility. From the automotive industry's point of view, Germany's leading role in automotive engineering must be maintained in an "electromobile future". The German government has therefore set itself the goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on Germany's roads by 2020 as a first step. The German automotive industry is to become a leading provider of electromobility.

However, there are still major technological hurdles to overcome on the way to marketable electric vehicles. As part of the "Key Technologies for Electromobility - STROM" funding priority of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, collaborative projects are being supported, particularly in the fields of battery research, energy management and complete vehicle systems. The STROM funding priority is based on the recommendations of the National Platform for Electromobility.

For many enclosed spaces such as city centers, traffic-free residential areas, parks and cultural landscapes, the use of conventional road vehicles is prohibited due to their structural conditions or certain environmental and tourism aspects. On the other hand, it is fundamentally desirable that elderly or mobility-impaired people in particular can move around in these areas without having to make costly changes to the infrastructure. In doing so, they could additionally receive up-to-date information on the surroundings and make use of a driver assistance system that guides them to a desired destination semi-autonomously, i.e. without the occupant having to actively intervene in the vehicle control or charging processes. The aim of the E2V project is to enable these applications with a compact, maneuverable and lightweight electric vehicle.

The plan is to integrate various solution approaches for the mobility of the future into a single-axle, two-wheeled vehicle for up to two people. One focus of the project is the design of a semi-autonomous vehicle control system with corresponding drive components. GPS data and an environment sensor system are to be used for this purpose. Aspects such as traffic rules, drive management, safety, orientation, fleet management, vehicle feedback, anti-theft protection and interconnection will be taken into account. At the same time, an information system is to be implemented that primarily provides context-related information, i.e. information that is relevant in a given situation. As an additional option, the control of the vehicle solely by the facial expressions of the occupants is to be tested.

Since the planned vehicles move in a limited space at low speed, batteries with a small capacity are sufficient for operation. The low vehicle weight also promises high energy efficiency. The advantages of electric propulsion are thus exploited without its shortcomings, such as limited range. Building on the research results of the project, insights are to be gained for future individual mobility, especially in large cities.

The research project is coordinated by the Department of Vehicle Systems and Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering at the University of Kassel. Four other departments from the Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering departments at the University of Kassel as well as six industrial partners are involved in the project:

• Department of Vehicle Systems and Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering
• Department of Systems and High Voltage Engineering
• Department of Electrical Power Supply Systems
• Department of Lightweight Construction
• Department of Human-Machine Systems Engineering
• E.ON Mitte AG, Kassel
• FINE Mobile GmbH, Rosenthal
• Ernst Hombach GmbH & Co. KG, Uehlfeld
• Hymer Leichtmetallbau GmbH & Co. KG, Wangen im Allgäu
• Krebs and Aulich GmbH, Derenburg
• Hella KGaA Hueck & Co, Lippstadt

"Single-axle vehicle" (E2V) in action

Info Project Coordinator:

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ludwig Brabetz
University of Kassel
FB 16 - Elektrotechnik/Informatik
Fahrzeugsysteme und Grundlagen der Elektrotechnik (FSG)
Tel.: +49 561 804 6231
E-Mail: Brabetz[at]uni-kassel[dot]de