BTU overview
Faculty 1
Chair of Discrete mathematics and foundations of computer science Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Ekkehard Köhler

RESY - Route-based energy-efficient control of hybrid vehicles

In the RESY project, the mutual consideration of the three components navigation - engine control - driver behavior is intended to enable significantly more energy-efficient, individual driving. The research project is being conducted in cooperation with the chairs of Optimization and Applied Mathematics at the BTU and in collaboration with TomTom, iav and Wankel Supertec. It is funded by the BMBF as part of the Mathematics for Innovation in Industry and Services program.

The topography, here the Thuringian Forest between Ilmenau and Meiningen, has a significant impact on the energy consumption of a vehicle. (map from OpenStreetMap - published under ODbL)
The topography, here the Thuringian Forest between Ilmenau and Meiningen, has a significant impact on the energy consumption of a vehicle. (map from <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org">OpenStreetMap</a> - Published under <a href="http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/">ODbL</a>)

Hybrid motor control systems currently have to make their decisions, i.e. switching the electric drive on or off, charging the battery, etc., based on a very small database. Often, only a very locally based online optimization can be used. The objective is therefore, for example, to maintain an average battery charge. If, on the other hand, information about the planned route is available to the engine control system, it can be controlled in a better way and the topography of the route can be optimally exploited.

Elevation profile of the blue route with about 1800 m elevation and maximum altitude of 866 m.
Elevation profile of the blue route with about 1800 m elevation and maximum altitude of 866 m.

If the navigation system knows basic parameters of the hybrid control system, it can use these parameters to search for energy-efficient routes. So far, navigation systems only optimize their routes using known average expected fuel consumption values for route sections in the road network. In the project, we want to find energy-efficient routes taking into account the different efficiency of the combustion engine drive and the electric drive depending on the route. This new approach also considers the charging level of the battery, since, for example, the battery can be charged when driving downhill without consuming fuel.

The red route is a little longer, but there are only about 720 meters of altitude to climb and a maximum altitude of 774 meters.
The red route is a little longer, but there are only about 720 meters of altitude to climb and a maximum altitude of 774 meters.

The energy efficiency of the hybrid drive also depends to a large extent on the individual driving style due to the complex interplay in the drive system. Therefore, we want to statistically model driving styles on different types of routes using data on routes driven given by the navigation system, as well as readable data from the engine control unit. By placing the individual driver in this model, the system can be enabled to offer a better estimate of the most energy-efficient route as well as the control parameters.

Partners

RESY is a cooperation of the chairs Discrete Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science, Optimization and Applied Mathematics of the BTU in collaboration with TomTom, iav and Wankel Supertec. The project is funded by the BMBF as part of the Mathematics for Innovations in Industry and Services program.

Contact

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