Do you feel lucky? Why current range estimation methods are holding back EV adoption

Abstract

One challenge facing the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is the reduction of the impact of running out of fuel. An EV, with its limited charging point infrastructure and long charge times, is not seen as being as reliable as a conventional car in this respect. To make EVs more acceptable, forward-looking predictive methods of calculating range need to be developed which also take into account opportunities to conserve or harvest energy, as well as environmental factors such as terrain and weather conditions. Using a well-established EV range simulator, this paper describes scenarios showing the limitations of relying on such an approach and the potential detrimental results to both the driver and vehicle's ability to start and complete a journey. It provides an overview of the research being undertaken by the authors to address these problems, including a description of 'Electrikitty', a road legal pure EV that will be used to gather data to verify the development of novel range estimation algorithms.

Defining the accuracy of real-world range estimations of an electric vehicle

“…Range prediction in EVs is not a simple procedure with algorithms needed which take into account aspects such as Peukert's coefficient, temperature and depth of discharge [7]. The driver also has significant influence on range predictions with the use of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and auxiliary use, or driving style.…”

Reducing Range Anxiety by Unifying Networks of Charging Stations

“…In [36] and [17], the authors provide smartphone applications to plan efficient routes. Topography of the route, wind speed, weight of EV, real-time road traffic, historical consumption of energy by EV, historical EVO's driving behavior, speed, temperature, operation of the air conditioner/heater, accurate State of Charge (SoC) of the battery, driving time, and the availability of CI are important factors while planning an efficient route and estimating consumption rate [17], [18], [20], [26], [36], [37].…”

“…Researchers approve that estimating the remaining power of the battery and displaying it to the user is important for effective EV use [12]- [14], [17], [20], [24]- [26], [30], [41]- [45]. Nevertheless, SoC and range estimation are only valid under certain conditions, therefore improvement in estimation algorithms is required to make it more accurate [20].…”

“…Nevertheless, SoC and range estimation are only valid under certain conditions, therefore improvement in estimation algorithms is required to make it more accurate [20]. On the other hand in [13] the authors suggest that displaying error-prone information ambiguously might be advantageous rather than hiding them from users.…”

Simulation of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in a Vehicle Simulator Based on a Detailed Physical Model, for the Purpose of Hmi Evaluation

“…User vehicle interaction is shifting to a new, so far, unstudied area with familiar knobs and gauges are being substituted with touchscreens, menus, and voice interactions [5].…”