Framework for Assessment of Virtual Vehicles (October 2018)

Intermediate result from partners COV, IKA, VIF, CRF, TME and TECNALIA.
Result has been achieved on 30 October, 2018 in month 12 of the project.

Short introduction
The DOMUS project aims to reduce the energy consumption of future electric vehicles (EVs). This will be achieved by understanding in depth the comfort perception of EV users before developing reliable methods for designing and assessing the full vehicle context from a user-centric perspective, investigating radically new cabin designs and delivering innovative components, systems and control strategies to meet customer expectations.

Objective
The objective of the DOMUS project is to reduce the overall energy consumption of future EVs in order to increase by 25% the electric range for different ambient conditions.

Research
An in depth understanding of the comfort perception of EV users has to be made before developing reliable methods for designing and assessing the full vehicle context from a user-centric perspective, investigating radically new cabin designs and delivering innovative components, systems and control strategies to meet customer expectations. An assessment framework was designed through a series of workshops, surveys, and expert interviews. The framework is summarised in the following diagram:

The outstanding elements are:

  • which scenarios should be considered?
  • how is the car cabin simulated?
  • what are the structure and coefficients of the fitness function?

DOMUS provides two assessment strategies: a generic and a use-case specific one.

  • In the generic case, the aim is to produce a car cabin that would be suitable to all parts of the European market and thus balance the needs of a wide variety of countries, terrains, climates, and personalities.
  • In comparison, a use-case specific assessment targets particular users with particular usage patterns and needs. The aim here is to enable the development of highly user-centric vehicles that are thus extremely energy efficient for those users, while still meeting their comfort and safety needs.The workshops produced use-cases through a process of gathering, organising and rating to eventually form the final set of use-cases. Surveys were used to identify the relative values of different aspects of the fitness function. Expert interviews from consortium partners helped to refine key parts of the assessment framework and to validate the overall approach. A set of use-cases was generated based on the workshops. One example is the case of fictional “Isabelle and Jean”, who live in Nice, have two children, need the use of a wheelchair, and live in close proximity to other families with whom they wish to car-share.Isabelle and Jean entertain thoughts of car sharing in Nice, with two children and the need to use a wheelchair.
Isabelle and Jean entertain thoughts of car sharing in Nice, with two children and the need to use a wheelchair.

 

Result
These use-cases help identify both typical and atypical needs and desires of car users. The fitness function coefficients were identified from user surveys resulting in specific weighting of normalised comfort and energy. The final structure of the fitness function gives preference to safety above comfort and energy efficiency. Further work is needed to define an estimation of comfort given the state of the vehicle and car cabin for each passenger. An addendum has also been provided to estimate safety, in terms of windscreen fogging, based on window temperature and dew point temperature of the cabin air.

What will it be used for
The results will be used for the design of a vehicle that uses less energy for the comfort of driver and passengers. This framework exists to provide a fair assessment of the cabin’s ability to offer comfort to the passengers while minimising energy cost and ensuring safety. The framework is primarily designed for virtual assessment but it might, in principle, also be used for assessment of real vehicles.

Impact
A reduction in the overall energy consumption of future EVs with respect to comfort and thereby an increase in the range available from the stored energy (batteries).