Battery autonomy is the main limitation of current Electrical Vehicles (EV). Extending the battery capacity remains the most important research challenge in the mid and long term, but impressive autonomy gains can be achieved if people drive eco-friendly. EV have the ability of recuperating high amounts of energy through Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), that inject power to the batteries when the user brakes or moves without accelerating the engine. Then, drivers can take profit of this concept by intelligently adapting the way they drive and maximise energy recuperation.

To evaluate the eco-friendliness of drivers, the VehicularLab have developed an Android application that gathers real-time CAN-bus data (e.g., power, acceleration) and GPS parameters (e.g., speed, altitude) and evaluates the performance of the drivers using a Fuzzy Inference System FIS). This system combines the input and applies a set of energy-efficiency rules to provide a driver score.

The mobile application has been installed in an Android Tablet and mounted in a Renault Twizy EV. A connection to the CAN-bus was assured through a Bluetooth OBD adapter. FAE visitors were invited to drive into a small demonstration circuit for a couple of minutes. At the end of each trip, the driver was provided with an average score. The objective of this demonstration was twofold. First, it allowed us to test our platform in a real environment with different driving behaviours. Second, it allowed us to disseminate electro-mobility and eco-driving concepts to people of all ages to create a conscience on the energy-efficient usage of EV.