Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • ELECTRONICS • ELECTRICAL
    • Fastening • joining
    • FLUID POWER
    • LINEAR MOTION
    • MOTION CONTROL
    • SENSORS
    • TEST & MEASUREMENT
    • Factory automation
    • Warehouse automation
    • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
  • Learn
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Learning center
    • eBooks • Tech Tips
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars • general engineering
    • Webinars • Automated warehousing
    • Voices
  • LEAP Awards
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guides
  • Resources
    • Subscribe
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Educational Assets
    • Engineering diversity
    • Trends
  • Supplier Listings
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Connectivity, automation provides 20% improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency

By Paul Heney | January 6, 2021

Vehicle efficiency improvements are genrally accomplished by incrementally modifying components and control systems — often at a cost of millions of dollars. But now, a team led by Southwest Research Institute has applied connectivity and automation to achieve a 20% improvement in efficiency on a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime.

Working with collaborators at the University of Michigan and Toyota Motor North America, the team is sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy as part of its Next-Generation Energy Technologies for Connected and Automated On-Road Vehicles program. The program to develop enabling technologies set forth an ambitious target: To reduce the energy consumption of the Prius Prime by 20% without making changes to the powertrain and without compromising emissions, safety or drivability.

“We knew these tools had the potential for making a big impact on fuel efficiency,” said Sankar Rengarajan, manager of SwRI’s Powertrain Controls Section. “Vehicle connectivity and automation are already being used to effectively improve vehicle safety and driver convenience. For this program, we were able to tap into those existing data streams and put the information to use in a new way.”

Onboard sensing combined with data from vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-everything technologies provided the information needed to predict driving environments and develop new technologies. The team achieved these benefits by developing the next generation in vehicle dynamic and powertrain control software, designed to proactively use “look-ahead” information to anticipate vehicle power demand.

The new tools developed to meet these efficiency goals include eco-routing, eco-driving and power-split optimization.

“We like to call eco-routing Google Maps with energy,” Rengarajan said.

Using a mapping tool like Google Maps, drivers can set their destinations and see routes that may add a couple of minutes to their arrival, but that are more fuel efficient. While the technology is appealing to the eco-minded consumer, for delivery and service fleets, this 5–10% savings in fuel consumption can add up to millions of dollars in savings each year.

Eco-driving uses information from neighboring vehicles to minimize accelerations, while power-split optimization uses knowledge of routes and speeds to optimize battery and engine operations to more efficiently meet power demands.

SwRI engineers used internal funding to deploy the eco-driving technology in a mobile driver advisory application, or “app,” that runs on regular smart phones or tablets. The driver advisory app connects with traffic lights and roadway infrastructure to “see” up to half a kilometer ahead and alert drivers to drive more efficiently. For example, if a stoplight is red a few blocks ahead, the app will tell the driver to speed up or slow down by a few miles per hour to avoid stopping. For heavy-duty trucks, making a full stop at a red light and re-engaging the engine when the light turns green is a significant source of fuel consumption.

The team also built a unique connected and automated vehicle (CAV) chassis dynamometer, a system to measure force, torque and power, that interfaces with traffic simulation software to provide a controllable, repeatable environment for testing the new technologies. Calibrated using real-world data from Fort Worth, Texas, the simulator proved critical for evaluating control algorithms and accurately quantifying energy consumption.

“Not only can these tools be applied to any on-road vehicle,” said Scott Hotz, assistant director of SwRI’s Ann Arbor Technical Center, “but we also believe there are more improvements to be made. It’s quite a leap from making efficiency improvements by modifying vehicles and engines directly.”

Following the program’s success, the SwRI team is collaborating with regulatory and commercial organizations to commercialize the new tools. Separately, the U.S. Department of Energy has provided $3.2 million to investigate the benefits of using CAV technology with different types of vehicles, as well as evaluating the impact of smart infrastructure solutions like intelligent intersections as part of the Energy Efficient Mobility Systems initiative.

Southwest Research Institute
connectedpowertrain.swri.org

 

You Might Also Like


Filed Under: Green engineering • renewable energy • sustainability

 

About The Author

Paul Heney

Paul J. Heney, the VP, Editorial Director for Design World magazine, has a BS in Engineering Science & Mechanics and minors in Technical Communications and Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has written about fluid power, aerospace, robotics, medical, green engineering, and general manufacturing topics for more than 25 years. He has won numerous regional and national awards for his writing from the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

LEARNING CENTER

Design World Learning Center
“dw
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Design Engineering Professionals.
Motor University

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Sustainability, Innovation and Safety, Central to Our Approach
  • Why off-highway is the sweet spot for AC electrification technology
  • Looking to 2025: Past Success Guides Future Achievements
  • North American Companies Seek Stronger Ties with Italian OEMs
  • Adapt and Evolve
  • Sustainable Practices for a Sustainable World
View More >>
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Control Engineering
  • Consulting-Specifying Engineer
  • Plant Engineering
  • Engineering White Papers
  • Leap Awards

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • ELECTRONICS • ELECTRICAL
    • Fastening • joining
    • FLUID POWER
    • LINEAR MOTION
    • MOTION CONTROL
    • SENSORS
    • TEST & MEASUREMENT
    • Factory automation
    • Warehouse automation
    • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
  • Learn
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Learning center
    • eBooks • Tech Tips
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars • general engineering
    • Webinars • Automated warehousing
    • Voices
  • LEAP Awards
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guides
  • Resources
    • Subscribe
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Educational Assets
    • Engineering diversity
    • Trends
  • Supplier Listings
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. We share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners who may combine it with other information you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use this website.OkNoRead more