About the project
As a researcher on this project, you will focus on 2 cases of autonomous electric vehicles (EVs): negotiating T junctions and roundabouts.
Significant reduction of carbon emissions is needed to manage the effects of climate change within safe limits and to reduce air pollution. According to the Royal College of Physicians, air pollution causes around 40,000 deaths per year in the UK.
The UK government passed legislation in 2019, requiring all carbon emissions in the UK to be net zero by 2050. Widespread use of electric vehicles can help achieve this however, there are two major issues:
- range anxiety
- limited renewable electricity
Range anxiety is caused by the limited range of EVs due to the significantly lower energy densities of batteries. The production of renewable electricity is increasing however, the demand will increase significantly as the number of EVs increases. Meeting future demand will be challenging, an issue highlighted by the recent energy crisis. Improving energy efficiency of EVs is therefore an important research topic for our society.
Autonomous driving offers significant opportunities for improving energy efficiency, but most research has focused on sensing, safety, path planning and motion control. There hasn’t been significant research on energy efficiency of autonomous EVs considering the power train characteristics, V2X data and experimental analyses.
You will address these issues by:
- designing control systems considering the power train model, and V2X data
- analysing the systems using simulations, and experiments with the University Kia Niro EV and Toyota Prius PHEV
This interdisciplinary project offers design and experience of an autonomous driving module. You will have the opportunity to present your work at international conferences. You will gain knowledge and skills applicable to systems such as electrical, mechanical, aerospace and chemical. These are valuable in pursuing a career in both academia and industry.
