Overview
Within the cooperation between the Chinese city Dalian and the city of Bremen electric mobility is being evaluated within the areas of data logging and analysis as well as using new concept vehicles. The project’s aim is to analyse the usage of electric vehicles not only from the today’s point of view but also to draw conclusions for the future use of these vehicles. To achieve this, DFKI Bremen works closely together with Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen. While DFKI is responsible for expending their data mining systems for monitoring, logging, and analysing data as well as building four autonomous concept vehicles, the Fraunhofer IFAM is responsible for developing classification, certification, and licensing methods of various technologies in the field of electric mobility. DaBrEM is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) (code: 03EM0404A). The project is coordinated by the Regional Headquarters of the Model Region Electric Mobility Bremen/Oldenburg.
Since 2009 the Robotics Innovation Centre in Bremen works in the field of electric mobility within the Model Region Bremen/Oldenburg. Main goals are evaluation, trails, development and research of different technologies in this field. Work includes data mining and data analysis from vehicle internal information as well as user behaviour and experience. It also includes development and evaluation of different vehicle concepts and technologies for electric mobility as well as comprehensive fleet tests. Additional work is being done in the field of charging and intelligent user interfaces/services.
Therefore, the DaBrEM project deals with three main topics, which partially include direct exchanges with Chinese partners in Dalian, to evaluate the potentials of a cooperation. Within the two partner cities testing areas are provided which allow to perform fleet tests. For street legal cars, the entire environment is available. For concept vehicles with limited or no road authorisation there will be specific areas, so-called “gated areas” within which these vehicles can be used in fleet tests with corresponding types of data acquisition. In both places this works as follows: Fleet tests will be tracked using data acquisition systems utilising specially made data loggers as well as the necessary server infrastructure.
Afterwards all the data gets analysed to draw conclusions about user behaviour and to gain information about the acceptance of electric vehicles. At the same time, there is a direct data exchange and joint planning for the standardisation of data acquisition systems in terms of data formats and infrastructure. From the information gained concepts for simulations and models are then derived to facilitate future assessment of user behaviour and vehicle usage. For the so-called "gated areas" four innovative test vehicles are built and deployed.
The aim is to integrate fully autonomous functions into already street-legal vehicles to support the distribution of vehicles within the city as a car sharing concept. Vehicles will be equipped with innovative sensors, actuators and control logic to achieve this task. Meaning, vehicles will be equipped with sophisticated sensors, actuators and control logic which allows the autonomous active path following with path planning for automatic road train driving. This way, several cars and drive within a road train autonomously. To control them only one driver is required. He will be able to undock cars at their destination if nec