New Paradigm for Urban Vehicle Technologies

在世界各地的大城市中，交通拥堵是一个日益严重的问题，而且随着人口的增加，交通拥堵将继续恶化。到2050年，全球道路上的车辆数量预计将翻两番，达到近30亿辆，而城市核心地区的道路数量预计将大致保持不变。每辆车的平均乘客人数约为1.6人；目前车辆的空间没有得到充分利用。******为了缓解大城市的交通拥堵和相关污染，电动城市汽车的普及势头正在增强。电动城市车辆的优势部分是由于它们的多功能性；除了四轮配置外，这些车辆还可以配备三轮配置，前后各有一个轮子。这些车辆也可以有前轮、后轮或全轮转向。在一些司法管辖区，狭窄的城市车辆可以分开车道，在自行车道上行驶，并在非常规空间停车。城市车辆在缓解交通拥堵和停车位短缺方面具有巨大潜力。******目前形式的城市车辆基本上是乘用车的缩小版。这种缩小的方法严重限制了安全性、可用性、燃油消耗、热负荷、电源管理以及随后的客户对车辆的接受程度。例如，与传统的乘用车一样，现有的城市车辆的悬架和动力系统设计在车轮外部，主要通过支架和机械连杆连接。因此，仍然需要大量的机械部件及其连接，否则可以用于增加乘客空间。通过将悬架和动力系统集成到车轮中，并用x-by-wire系统取代机械连接，可以显著减少城市车辆的空间和重量。考虑到这种设计方法，大多数城市车辆往往不足的内部空间可以显著增加。此外，这种设计消除了许多动力总成部件，在降低车辆质量的同时，在气动车身形状上提供了更大的灵活性，所有这些都大大提高了能源效率。******探索计划的主要目标是为城市车辆技术开发一种新的范例，以便在非常省时的过程中设计出高燃油效率、更安全、成本效益高的城市车辆。

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.