New Paradigm for Urban Vehicle Technologies

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Traffic congestion is a growing problem in large cities around the world and will continue to worsen as populations increase. The number of vehicles on the road worldwide is expected to quadruple to nearly 3 billion by 2050, while the number of roadways is expected to remain approximately the same in city cores. The average number of occupants of a single vehicle is about 1.6 persons; the space of current vehicles is highly underutilized. To alleviate traffic congestion and associated pollution in large cities, the prevalence of electric urban vehicles are gaining momentum. The advantages of electric urban vehicles are in part due to their versatility; in addition to four-wheel configuration, these vehicles could host a three-wheel configuration with one wheel in the front or rear. The vehicles could also have front, rear, or all wheel steering. In some jurisdictions, narrow urban vehicles are able to lane-split, travel on bike lanes, and park in unconventional spaces. Urban vehicles have a huge potential to relieve traffic congestion and alleviate parking shortages. Urban vehicles in their current form are essentially scaled down versions of passenger cars. This scaled down approach imposes serious limitations on the safety, usability, fuel consumption, thermal loads, power management, and subsequently, customer acceptance of the vehicle. For example, as in conventional passenger cars, existing urban vehicles are designed with the suspension and powertrain external to the wheels that are connected primarily through mounts and mechanical linkages. Therefore, a significant volume is still needed for mechanical components and their connections, which could otherwise be used for added passenger space. It is possible to significantly reduce the space and weight of urban vehicles by integrating the suspension and powertrain into the wheels, and by replacing mechanical linkages with x-by-wire systems. Considering this design approach, the often inadequate interior space of most urban vehicles can be significantly increased. Moreover, this design eliminates many powertrain components and provides more flexibility in aerodynamic body shaping while lowering vehicle mass, all leading to vastly improved energy efficiency. The primary goal of the proposed Discovery program is to develop a new paradigm for urban vehicle technologies to allow the design of highly fuel efficient, safer, and cost effective urban vehicles in a very time efficient process.