How can vehicle data advance sustainable mobility?

SAE International Journal of Electrified Vehicles Guest Editor Shares Insights Behind New Focus Issue

Posted: April 5, 2024

SAE International Journal of Electrified Vehicles recently published the Focus Issue Eco-Driving of Connected Electrified Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems. This collection of articles centers around the use of data gathered from connected electric vehicles (CEVs) and how that data can be used to advance sustainable mobility.  

According to Dr. Guoyuan Wu, one of the Journal Guest Editors and Professor at the University of California, Riverside, the integration of machine learning and connectivity into EV models has huge implications for the next phase of the automotive industry.

“When talking about the major pillars of intelligent transportation systems, one of the most important is connectivity. Leveraging this kind of technology through connected vehicles can help to reduce energy consumption and environmental footprints,” Guoyuan said.

Applying this technology allows mobility professionals to optimize the transportation system (including vehicles). This can help users interpret the real-world implications from vehicle data.

For example, data from traffic patterns to affect an EV’s battery management system and traffic signal patterns can inform how and when energy gets conserved, according to Guoyuan.

“Advancements in energy management systems, drivetrain technologies, and materials can help a vehicle become more energy efficient, and connectivity can enable cooperative decision making and vehicle control to further improve energy efficiency,” Guoyuan said.

This is just one way that new mobility types have helped guide the trajectory of intelligent transportation systems, and the future is full of possibilities developing at a rapid pace.

““In the future, I believe there will be further use of a VCO (voltage-controlled oscillator), such as a moving energy node, that optimizes not just transportation but the entire power grid—a deeper integration between transportation and energy,” Guoyuan said.

Continue exploring these ideas in Eco-Driving of Connected Electrified Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems and the SAE International Journal of Electrified Vehicles, available now.