I-Corps Teams: Intelligent Driver Assistance System Enabled by Connected Vehicle Technologies

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to change the way vehicles are driven to save energy, which will reduce fuel consumption and pollution near public roadways. The first iteration of the technology will be in the form of recommendations made to drivers to affect velocity at different points along a route. With the recent advancement to autonomous driver system implementation, this technology can be applied by directly interconnecting with the automated control systems rather than working through driver recommendations. The safety of highways and all roadways will be enhanced with the system to recommend a maximum velocity prior to reaching road curves, preventing tipping and sliding. Furthermore, less maintenance and longer lasting parts on vehicles such as brake replacements, tire replacements, and engine and transmission work will be needed. This will benefit all of society in the form of reduced transportation cost. This I-Corps project is the result of studies done in the field of control systems. Specifically, control systems which optimize velocity to minimize energy consumption over a driving route through the implementation of dynamic programming. The technology uses vehicle characteristics such as mass, air drag coefficients, and motor efficiency, as well as altitude and heading to determine the speed profile which is a minimum for a given route, while still adhering to local speed laws. The technical results which the project is based stems from simulations done in Matlab concerning all these parameters in different situations and environments. The initial simulations have shown a 16% energy saving for city driving in a scenario. The amount of energy saving will be highly situational and will likely vary widely depending on the vehicle studied and circumstances. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.