Enhanced Techniques for Extending Electric Vehicles' Distance and Enhancing Safety

The University of Surrey is at the forefront of a groundbreaking European Commission project called STEVE (Smart Torque Vectoring for Electric Vehicles), which concluded in April 2021 after a successful four-year run. This EUR 9.5 million initiative brings together 20 partners from across the continent, with the goal of creating a new concept in urban mobility.

One of the key advancements from the STEVE project is the use of a 'pulse and glide' approach in electric vehicles. This method, implemented in the predictive control model, aims to reduce energy consumption, making electric vehicles more efficient and cost-effective. The model prioritizes vehicle dynamics or energy efficiency based on driving conditions, ensuring optimal performance in various scenarios.

Calculating and optimising the precise amount of power needed for torque vectoring in real-time is a complex task, requiring detailed knowledge of driving conditions ahead and powerful onboard computing resources. The Surrey torque vectoring system, developed as part of the project, incorporates a predictive control model with fuzzy logic to tackle this challenge.

Professor Aldo Sorniotti, Head of the Centre for Automotive Engineering at the University of Surrey, believes the project's work will allow new advanced torque vectoring techniques to become usable in ordinary electric vehicles. One such method is a stability-control system that anticipates the curvature of the road ahead, allowing the car to pre-emptively brake when it approaches a bend too fast.

Riccardo Groppo, CEO of Ideas & Motion, emphasises the importance of technical collaboration in the project's success. He states that the collaboration was fundamental to making progress on the inverter and control algorithm for the Light Electric Vehicle developed in the STEVE project.

Various findings from the STEVE project were published alongside a series of real-world demonstrations. The cost-effective torque vectoring model developed by Surrey is suitable for implementation in future electric vehicles, promising significant improvements in power consumption, safety, and driveability.

The leadership of the European project STEVE, aimed at developing innovative methods to improve electric vehicle performance, is not found in the provided search results. However, the impact of this project is undeniable, paving the way for a more efficient and sustainable future in urban mobility.