Switching to vehicles powered by electricity from renewables could save lives

Driving vehicles that use electricity from renewable energy instead of gasoline could reduce the resulting deaths due to air pollution by 70 percent. Credit: © Dmitry Vereshchagin / Fotolia

Driving vehicles that use electricity from renewable energy instead of gasoline could reduce the resulting deaths due to air pollution by 70 percent. This finding comes from a new life cycle analysis of conventional and alternative vehicles and their air pollution-related public health impacts, published Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study also shows that switching to vehicles powered by electricity made using natural gas yields large health benefits. Conversely, vehicles running on corn ethanol or vehicles powered by coal-based or "grid average" electricity are worse for health; switching from gasoline to those fuels would increase the number of resulting deaths due to air pollution by 80 percent or more.

"These findings demonstrate the importance of clean electricity, such as from natural gas or renewables, in substantially reducing the negative health impacts of transportation," said Chris Tessum, co-author on the study and a researcher in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering.

The University of Minnesota team estimated how concentrations of two important pollutants -- particulate matter and ground-level ozone -- change as a result of using various options for powering vehicles. Air pollution is the largest environmental health hazard in the U.S., in total killing more than 100,000 people per year. Air pollution increases rates of heart attack, stroke, and respiratory disease.

The authors looked at liquid biofuels, diesel, compressed natural gas, and electricity from a range of conventional and renewable sources. Their analysis included not only the pollution from vehicles, but also emissions generated during production of the fuels or electricity that power them. With ethanol, for example, air pollution is released from tractors on farms, from soils after fertilizers are applied, and to supply the energy for fermenting and distilling corn into ethanol.

"Our work highlights the importance of looking at the full life cycle of energy production and use, not just at what comes out of tailpipes," said Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Assistant Professor Jason Hill, co-author of the study. "We greatly underestimate transportation's impacts on air quality if we ignore the upstream emissions from producing fuels or electricity."

The researchers also point out that whereas recent studies on life cycle environmental impacts of transportation have focused mainly on greenhouse gas emissions, it is also important to consider air pollution and health. Their study provides a unique look at where life cycle emissions occur, how they move in the environment, and where people breathe that pollution. Their results provide unprecedented detail on the air quality-related health impacts of transportation fuel production and use.

"Air pollution has enormous health impacts, including increasing death rates across the U.S.," said Civil, Environmental and Geo- Engineering Associate Professor Julian Marshall, co-author on this study. "This study provides valuable new information on how some transportation options would improve or worsen those health impacts."

Source: University of Minnesota

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‘Fury’ tanks in safe hands

Fury Sherman. Credit: Image courtesy of Bournemouth University

BU research engineers have been working on military vehicles that feature in Brad Pitt's new movie.

Set in the Second World War and currently in UK cinemas, 'Fury' sees Pitt's character Wardaddy command a Sherman tank.

Scenes from the movie were filmed at the Tank Museum at Bovington, where the BU research team are investigating how to preserve these historic vehicles.

The team have worked on the Sherman and Tiger 1, which can be seen in the Fury movie trailer (2 minutes 26 seconds in). Researchers Adil Saeed, Dr Zulfiqar Khan, and Professor Mark Hadfield from BU's Sustainable Design Research Centre have published widely on these particular vehicles.

Dr Zulfiqar Khan said, "This movie reflects the importance of the research, which examines how we can preserve these vehicles for the benefit of society for lengths of time that far exceed the basis any normal design intent.

"The centenary of the First World War and the passing of the generation that fought in the Second World War, means the conservation of significantly degraded vehicle collections has taken on a new importance."

The Tank Museum at Bovington is one of the largest military vehicle museums in the world, boasting a collection of over 300 military vehicles with historic significance. Structural deterioration through corrosion, corrosion fatigue, stress corrosion cracking and mechanical failures are a threat to these vehicles in terms of conservation.

The only operational Tiger tank in the world is currently at The Tank Museum at Bovington. This and other vehicles had to be conserved sustainably, while operating modestly for the annual Tank Fest and other events.

Dr Khan concluded, "The opportunity of collaborative research with The Tank Museum at Bovington to develop sustainable methodology of conserving historic military tanks brought us face to face with the history. This research investigated the state of the structural integrity of vehicles used in WW1, WW2 and post war.

"The outcomes of the research informed the current design of control environment in The Tank Museum. In addition a separate research project looked into the cost implications of project management of The Tank Museum.

"This kind of activity is important in engaging new generations with science, technology, maths and mechanical engineering design solutions."

The research has led to further collaborations with Defence Science & Technology Laboratory Ministry of Defence to develop corrosion condition monitoring and predictive modelling techniques.

Source: Bournemouth University

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From video camera to driverless shuttle vehicle

The EZ 10 shuttle vehicle. Credit: © EasyMile

A new type of driverless shuttle vehicle has been developed thanks to innovative computer vision guidance technology that enables the vehicle to locate itself on a roadway reliably and inexpensively. The technology, which is based on the use of simple video cameras, was developed by researchers at Institut Pascal (CNRS/Université Blaise Pascal de Clermont Ferrand/IFMA)[1]. It lies at the heart of the EZ-10 autonomous shuttle vehicle developed by Ligier Group[2], which will be unveiled at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Chengdu (China) from 11 to 14 November 2014.

Since the 2000s, a number of companies have sought to make cars autonomous using expensive and sometimes unreliable technologies[3]. In 2003, researchers at Institut Pascal decided to work on automated driving of urban electric vehicles using simple video cameras. 
The technology they developed is based on two stages. The aim of the first stage is to identify all the significant points in the immediate environment of the path followed, in a video recorded during an initial journey in which the vehicle is driven manually. The second stage corresponds to the automatic mode during which the vehicle continuously monitors its path, ensuring that the images provided by the on-board cameras correspond as far as possible to the sequence initially filmed. The initial video thus plays the role of a virtual track that the vehicle must follow when it travels in autonomous mode.

Since 2006, the researchers at Institut Pascal, in collaboration with Ligier Group, have been developing automatic driverless shuttle vehicles that can transport up to 10 people along short routes (in the region of one kilometer), rather like a horizontal elevator. The vehicles, which are designed to be used at specific sites such as industrial sites, airports and amusement parks, are able to deal with obstacles thanks to laser rangefinders fitted on all four sides of the vehicle. The shuttle vehicle can detect the presence of an obstacle at a distance of 50 meters and in this way modify its speed or even stop, depending on the potential danger. The researchers now intend to turn their attention to running a fleet of five vehicles at the Michelin Europe Technology Center at Ladoux. The aim is to deal with multiple and potentially simultaneous requests from call points or smartphones, in real time and on a large industrial site, rather like an automatic taxi service.

The localization technology, which is reliable and inexpensive, will be unveiled at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Chengdu (China) from 11 to 14 November 2014. Equipped with an access ramp for people with reduced mobility, the new EZ-10 shuttle vehicle will provide visitors with a completely automated transport service.

[1] Within the framework of the IMobS3 Laboratory of Excellence.

[2] It is marketed by the EasyMile company, a joint venture between Ligier and Robosoft Technology.

[3] For example: differential GPS (which is different from the GPS commonly used in cars) is not always reliable, especially in city centers, where the satellite signals can be reflected off the façades of buildings. This phenomenon can lead to erroneous location calculations.

Source: CNRS

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Electric cars without drivers

Autonomous vehicle in the car-sharing operation: After the renter has called for the car, it navigates autonomously to the pick-up area. Credit: © Fraunhofer IPA

E-Mobile will park independently in the future and will also be able to find the next charging station without a driver. Researchers are working on electric cars that can travel short distances autonomously. On the basis of cost-effective sensors, they are developing a dynamic model that perceives the environmental situation.

Whoever got his driver's license twenty years ago and is back in a car for the first time is going to be rubbing his eyes in amazement. Electronic helpers warn of a possible collision when parking and keep the necessary distance to the car ahead during traffic. There are lane departure, crosswind, blind spot and high beam assistants, not to mention the anti-lock system. The car is taking over step by step in the cockpit. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA are one step ahead: They are dedicated to automated driving and are working on the vehicles of tomorrow, which can drive through traffic without human assistance. In this process, the Stuttgart engineers are particularly keeping an eye on electric cars.

The specialty of the researchers at the IPA is the development of robots. In the institute building, there is a prototype that independently finds its way on its four wheels through unknown territory. The challenges that are to be mastered are similar to those for automated driving. Here, as well, sensors need to recognize the environment so that the vehicle can navigate around obstacles and find its goal. Why not take advantage of that experience and apply it to the car, say the engineers in Stuttgart. That is why, one and a half years ago, an interdisciplinary team of computer scientists, mathematicians, electrical engineers and mechatronics engineers launched the project Afkar (a German abbreviation for "autonomous driving and intelligent chassis concept for an all-electric vehicle").

In a first step, the electric car is intended to learn to find a parking space and to park without a scratch. The idea behind this is that the car should be able to recharge itself with electricity without human help. This would be particularly important for car-sharing. Imagine the following scenario: The driver easily parks the car in a properly equipped parking garage on any randomly available parking space. The car takes care of everything else itself. It communicates via a wireless interface with the charging station and the parking garage management. In this process, it provides information about its charge level and its location. If the battery is empty and a charging station is free, it maneuvers in the corresponding parking bay and is charged inductively, without a cable. Then it makes room for the next electric car and rolls to a free parking space. In this way, the few existing charging stations can be used effectively.

Necessary technology is available

"The technology needed for this scenario is already available," says Afkar project manager Benjamin Maidel. He is referring to the robots of the institute that find their way easily in a known environment, such as a factory floor. Rebuilding a similar car does not take a lot of effort. Many modern cars already have most of the sensors that are required for this. The data that these devices collect just have to be combined and interpreted accordingly so that they provide a picture of the environment. The Fraunhofer experts are currently developing the necessary technology with the help of complex simulation programs. Soon, they want to test the results in practice on a demonstration vehicle.

It becomes more difficult when a car is intended to move autonomously in traffic. This requires sensors that can look hundreds of meters ahead as well as software that can react to any unforeseen events, whether that's a building site, a thunderstorm or snow. Maidel and his team are focusing on cameras, ultrasound, radar and laser scanners that perceive the surrounding area up to a distance of 200 to 300 meters.

The Afkar group will first go with their test car to a cordoned-off test area. For public roads, a special permit is required. "Whether autonomous driving makes a breakthrough will be decided, along with the right price, by customer acceptance and the legal framework. For example, the liability for accidents has to be re-regulated. The technology will probably conquer the market step by step," says Maidel. The advantages are obvious -- particularly for car-sharing vehicles. Any customer could use his smart phone to call a car, which would then drive to the desired location. Car-sharing companies could utilize their fleets more fully than they do today.

Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

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