Three new patent filings by industry giants propose similar methods for solving the same issue, namely that an electric vehicle’s “range estimate is reliably accurate in less than 50% of cases,” as Jaguar Land Rover notes.
General Motors and Volkswagen have recognized the same problem, and all three carmakers aim to solve it through one basic premise: using technology in the car to better estimate the real-world range of an EV.
How each company goes about tackling the problem is slightly different, but the principles are the same.
How They Work
The JLR patent registered in the UK discusses using machine learning (AI) to piece together segments of travelled road, effectively creating a database of conditions on these roads at various times. As a result, its car can more accurately determine how much energy is likely to be consumed on a certain route on average, and suggest alternatives that are more efficient.
The Volkswagen patent registered in Germany aims to glean more range from the battery by using lateral and longitudinal sensors to determine the actual path that a driver takes to reach their destination, with the aim of filling in the blanks of inaccurate digital maps. This sensor data would come from a multitude of vehicles, helping to paint a picture of what the real-time traffic situation is like and where there may be blockages that don’t show up on a map, as a result of things such as roadworks or natural disasters.
Also registered in Germany, GM’s patent focuses on road gradient data, mapping the small hills and troughs on streets and highways to determine how much energy is really used on a given trip. A range of 300 miles won’t necessarily take you 300 miles from your starting point if there are many elevation changes, so this information could be very useful.
Why They Matter
Each patent is trying to deal with multiple issues at once: the problem of battery size and weight, which could be reduced with a vehicle that uses less energy; the issue of congestion on major roads; and the concern of range anxiety.
Fundamentally, all of these issues boil down to efficiency, and if all of them could be combined, a major network of accurate real-time route data could make life much easier for everyone, whether they drive an electric vehicle or not.
