Software Looks at the Road Ahead to Boost Hybrid-Car Efficiency

Algorithm uses trip plan to maximize the use of battery power

3 min read
Software Looks at the Road Ahead to Boost Hybrid-Car Efficiency
Photo: David Lewis/iStockphoto

3 February 2009—Drivers use all manner of data these days to travel efficiently, and vehicles should follow their lead, according to University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee mechatronics expert Yaoyu Li. He predicts that vehicles privy to data in the latest GPS-enabled electronic navigators—which download real-time traffic data to update route suggestions on the fly—will provide substantial fuel savings in the decades to come.

Li has developed control algorithms that use route and traffic data to allow hybrid vehicles to plan how and when to use stored battery power so as to burn as little gasoline as possible. He hopes to enhance the plug-in hybrid vehicles already in development at major automakers, such as a grid-chargeable Prius that Toyota plans to lease starting later this year, or the Chevy Volt that General Motors promises for late 2010.

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Chinese Joint Venture Will Begin Mass-Producing an Autonomous Electric Car

With the Robo-01, Baidu and Chinese carmaker Geely aim for a fully self-driving car

4 min read
A black car sits against a white backdrop decorated with Chinese writing. The car’s doors are open, like a butterfly’s wings. Two charging stations are on the car’s left; two men stand on the right.

The Robo-01 autonomous electric car shows off its butterfly doors at a reveal to the media in Beijing, in June 2022.

Tingshu Wang/Reuters/Alamy
Purple

In October, a startup called Jidu Automotive, backed by Chinese AI giant Baidu and Chinese carmaker Geely, officially released an autonomous electric car, the Robo-01 Lunar Edition. In 2023, the car will go on sale.

At roughly US $55,000, the Robo-01 Lunar Edition is a limited edition, cobranded with China’s Lunar Exploration Project. It has two lidars, a 5-millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and 12 high-definition cameras. It is the first vehicle to offer on-board, AI-assisted voice recognition, with voice response speeds within 700 milliseconds, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip.

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