Intelligent Environment-Friendly Vehicles: Concept and Case Studies

The concept of an intelligent environment-friendly vehicle (i-EFV) is proposed in this paper. It integrates three components, i.e., clean-energy powertrain, electrified chassis, and intelligent information interaction devices. By employing such technologies as structure sharing, data fusion, and control coordination, more comprehensive performances are achievable, in terms of traffic safety, fuel efficiency, and environmental protection. Based on its definition and configuration, some key technologies, including design for resource effectiveness, driving environment identification, and coordinated control, are studied. As a basic application, a platform of an intelligent hybrid electric vehicle (i-HEV), which incorporates a hybrid powertrain with adaptive cruise control, has been designed and implemented. Both simulation and experimental results demonstrated that the i-EFV performed better than a conventional vehicle.