Add fuel efficiency by adding brains to your car
I like the news in this article from Breitbart, but I don't think the way it is presented is ultimately very helpful.
First, the news: a study released last week found that vehicles with telematics - communication devices that exchange information with a network about traffic and can help the driver change their driving style to avoid stop-start conditions (something like this) - deliver fuel economy on par with hybrids. Depending on how far ahead the telematics is programmed (60 seconds, 180 seconds), the fuel efficiency of the non-hybrid vehicles increased up to 33 percent (compared to 15-25 for the standard hybrids).
But why is the presentation of this information described as a competitive one of hybrids vs. telematics.
Saving fuel and driving smarter are not an either/or situation. Yes, it's useful to use this type of comparison because a lot of people understand the hybrids = fuel savings equation. But considering that this study was done by engineers at Australia's University of Melbourne, it seems like a no brainer to also figure out the potential fuel savings of a hybrid with telematics, don't you think?
[Source: Breitbart]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mark 6:17AM (5/15/2007)
Of course, implementing really effective telematics is really coming pretty close to implmenting a PRT network (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_rapid_transit). You may as well go the extra step of replacing the major road networks with PRT systems, and take advantage of a hugely more energy efficient way of transit.
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Ron Fischer 6:19PM (5/15/2007)
The original paper can be read online here, where you'll see the authors did analyze the effect of predictive driving on a hybrid vehicle. You can smooth out engine use for efficiency either inside the drivetrain using a hybrid system, or outside the drivetrain by taking away throttle control from the driver. The authors said that while their analysis showed hybrids benefitted unevenly from predictive driving, a greater benefit would likely come from integrating the prediction system directly with the hybrid engine management.
Predictive throttle control could be very cheap to implement widely.
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Ron Fischer 6:55PM (5/15/2007)
Original paper is here (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VGJ-4MM8B9N-1&_user=10&_coverDate=02%2F28%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-info%28%23toc%236040%232007%23999849998%23647016%23FLA%23display%23Volume%29&_cdi=6040&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_ct=5&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=f434cd2758973e9083c678689b97da23)
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