E2V (08/2011 - 10/2014)

Driving an electric vehicle in the park, being taken to the desired destination semi-autonomously and receiving up-to-date information at the same time: This is the aim of a project at the University of Kassel funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with the participation of the Department of Systems and High Voltage Technology (FG AHT).

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the research project "Electromobility concept with semi-autonomous vehicles"(E2V) with a financial volume of 2.91 million euros. Five departments at the University of Kassel - including the Department of Systems and High Voltage Engineering - and six industrial partners are involved in the project. A pilot project in Europe's largest mountain park, Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel, will demonstrate the usability of the project results and their suitability for practical application.

Industry and research: the search for environmentally friendly individual mobility

The greatest challenge facing the automotive industry worldwide is to ensure environmentally friendly individual mobility in the long term. With regard to the targeted use of renewable energies and zero local emissions, great expectations are being placed on electromobility. From the perspective of the automotive industry, it is important to maintain Germany's leading role in automotive engineering in an "electromobile future". The German government has therefore set itself the goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on Germany's roads by 2020 as a first step. The German automotive industry is to become a leading provider of electromobility.

However, there are still significant technological hurdles to overcome on the way to marketable electric vehicles. As part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's funding priority "Key technologies for electromobility - STROM", joint projects are being funded, particularly in the areas of battery research, energy management and complete vehicle systems. The STROM funding priority is based on the recommendations of the National Platform for Electromobility.

Electric mobility concepts of the future

For many enclosed areas such as city centers, traffic-free residential areas, parks and cultural landscapes, the use of conventional road vehicles is prohibited due to their structural conditions or certain environmental and tourism aspects. On the other hand, it is fundamentally desirable that older people or people with restricted mobility in particular can move around in these areas without having to make costly changes to the infrastructure. They could also receive up-to-date information on their surroundings and have access to a driver assistance system that guides them to a desired destination semi-autonomously, i.e. without the occupant having to actively intervene in the vehicle control or charging processes. The aim of the E2V project is to enable these applications with a compact, maneuverable and lightweight electric vehicle.
The plan is to integrate various solutions for the mobility of the future into a single-axle, two-wheeled vehicle for up to two people.

Participation of the Department of Systems and High-Voltage Technology

With the sub-project "Integration of navigation and information system", the Department of Systems and High-Voltage Engineering is working on a key aspect of the joint project. The core of the project is the creation and integration of a navigation system which, by linking satellite data and other navigation technologies, allows the vehicle's position to be determined very precisely. This enables semi-autonomous operation of the vehicle, which can, for example, prevent the vehicle from driving in unauthorized areas or monitor compliance with traffic regulations specified for certain sections of the route. Furthermore, aspects such as drive management, safety, orientation, fleet management, vehicle return, theft protection and network formation are taken into account.
At the same time, an information system is to be implemented that provides context-related information based on the current location, the route and user-specific interests.

As the planned vehicles move in a limited space at low speed, batteries with a small capacity are sufficient for operation. The low vehicle weight also promises high energy efficiency. The advantages of the electric drive are thus exploited without the shortcomings - such as the limited range - coming into play. Building on the research results of the project, insights are to be gained for future individual mobility, particularly in large cities.