Predictive Ecological Control: Using Road Terrain and Traffic Signal Information for Improving Vehicle Energy Efficiency

This paper proposes a predictive ecological control (PEC) strategy to improve the energy efficiency of electric vehicle (EV) which approaches to an intersection with traffic light. By using the traffic signal information, the range of average cruising speed which avoids stopping is determined. Within the vehicle speed range, the cruising velocity is optimized by dynamic programming to reduce the energy loss while driving on highway with varying slops. Three case studies, cruising without information, with signal information and PEC are simulated. The results indicate the significant energy efficiency improvement of PEC and its potential impact on trip time.