Remote - M2M 2014 - (Page 14)

Feature Article Electric Vehicles: Where Telematics, Smart Grid and Mobile Payments Converge Dominikus Hierl, CEO Telit Automotive Solutions Where are You Going Today? Today, the projected driving range for electric vehicles based on current battery technology tops out around 150 miles. Sure, that's enough to get most people to work and home on any given day, but it is not so convenient for family vacations. Moreover, public charging stations, though proliferating in major cities, remain few and far between, particularly in vast landscapes like the American plains. As a result, industry observers have identified a phenomenon among early adopters. It's called range anxiety, a driver's fear of getting stuck in his or her electric car, and Bloomberg reports it's also impacting the electric vehicle rental market ("Electric Car Rentals Stalled in US by Range Anxiety," bloomberg.com, October 14, 2013). To make matters worse, the energy consumption (and hence the range of electric energy inside the vehicle) is dependent on numerous factors. A vehicle engaged in highway climbs through mountainous terrain is likely to use considerably more electricity than one driving over flat surfaces. Moreover, much of the car's range is dependent on peripheral functions like lighting, climate control and infotainment. Indeed, as Consumer Reports discovered and reported early last year, even temperature can impact available charge ("Winter chills limit range of the Tesla Model S electric car," Consumer Reports, Feb. 15, 2013). The need to charge anywhere, anytime is, particularly in these early days, simply not addressed as the required dense infrastructure must be created over time, and depending on substantial investment and installation time. Looking ahead, viable concept for extending battery life and range include battery exchange, fast charge and charging while the user is on the move. Of course, these new resources will be initially even more scarcely available than today's power plug with the required current capability for an overnight energy refill. So, where is the driver of an electric vehicle to turn? Telematics to the Rescue Onboard communications capabilities while on the move are the only option to solve these challenges and address range anxiety. First, GPSassisted guidance from onboard instruments can leverage recorded electric vehicle infrastructure routes to help make driving more reliable. Of course, as the infrastructure to charge electric vehicles changes over time, frequent updates, even real-time data, could be required. In tandem, embedded vehicle telematics systems enable reliable vehicle range information to be drawn form onboard systems minute-by-minute, and can detect, report and record problems and calculate a choice of solutions for the driver reliably and instantaneously. Even for the savvy driver with knowledge of available charging points and their locations along the route, the real availability of such points and spare batteries will be influenced by other vehicles. Only the sharing of real-time information from the service providers' back-end infrastructures, online reservation for stopovers, guaranteeing efficiency and enabling a selection of POI, can lead to reliable planning and security for the customer. In other words, interactive communication with back-end systems of service providers is critical to making electronic vehicles, and their ownership, a success. 14 www.RemoteMagazine.com But is the Grid Smart Enough? Now consider the demands of all this burgeoning infrastructure on the power industry. For utilities and other service providers, exact demand planning is essential. Open system allowing roaming between service providers, utilities and even across national borders will be a must for getting fast coverage of service points. Setting up a network of charging and/or battery exchange stations is expensive, particularly considering that the margins on electric distribution are generally low. Reducing the cost of infrastructure build out and operations will be a key to create momentum and adoption, particularly in more sparsely populated areas. This issue becomes even more important when it is applied to the problem of load balancing. As ever, the load profile of electric distribution networks is determined by human activity. Unfortunately, morning and evening commuting traffic happens right in the middle of peak power consumption hours, bridging residential and commercial peak times. Ideally, electric vehicle recharging would be scheduled for off-peak hours like mid-morning or night time. Thankfully, smart grid technology offers one way of dealing with this effect. But to function optimally, energy supply for electric vehicles in the mass market should be dependent on reasoned prioritization. E-mobility service providers need to predict energy demands and manage power supply efficiently. Battery charge levels need to support typical mobility patterns, but the user also needs to be able to influence prioritization of exceptional energy amounts, whether through reservation or even ad-hoc. How Would You Like to Pay? Imagine your electric vehicle has arrived, well-guided, at a place to refill its energy reservoir. It now needs to authenticate itself to the charging station. Secure exchange of keys for authenticating the charging process and releasing the energy needs to be performed. How? Perhaps with RF-ID based on near field communications standards specifically designed to transact secure information exchange. The vehicle telematics system should support both off or onboard methods of metering and billing and even other useful information to exchange between the car and the recharge station. Of course, obtaining metering and billing information is a delicate process that requires added measures to guarantee privacy and security. The same telematics system now requires bank-level security to work in conjunction with both near-field and wide-area communications technologies. Through the acquisition of the Automotive Telematics Onboard Platform (ATOP) business unit from NXP Semiconductors, together with ILS Technology, Telit is expanding its footprint to eliminate complexity for our customers. ATOP incorporates all required building blocks including: cellular connectivity, GPS, in-vehicle network support; embedded security, near-field communications to interface to external devices, like payment cardsor integrated into electric connectors or exchange-able batteries. Although electronic vehicles and their unique burdens on in-car telematics systems are still relatively new, with dedication, the smart grid, electric car makers and energy providers alike can hope to extend electric vehicle consumer's drive quality and meet the requirements for extended temperature range, long lifecycles and more. For more information, visit www.telit.com. http://www.bloomberg.com http://www.telit.com http://www.RemoteMagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Remote - M2M 2014

Remote - M2M 2014
Editor's Choice
When Does it Makes Sense to Transition to Wireless?
Intelligent Machinery Requires Comprehensive Wireless M2M Communications
Improving M2M Communications with Wireless
Driving the Connected Car - a New World of Mobility
SDN-Based Solutions Strengthen Cyber Security in Industrial Control Infrastructure
Electric Vehicles: Where Telematics, Smart Grid and Mobile Payments Converge
Powering Today’s Wireless Sensors
M2M Visions of 2020
Satellite Communications Takes the Edge out of Risky Mining Operations
New Products
Industry News

Remote - M2M 2014