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The topic of energy management in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) has received a great deal of recent attention. Various methods have been proposed to develop algorithms which manage energy flows within HEVs so that to optimally exploit energy storage capability of the battery and reduce fuel consumption while maintaining battery State of Charge. In addition, to the rule-based approaches, systematic optimal control methods based on deterministic and stochastic dynamic programming have been explored for HEV energy management optimization. In this paper, another novel framework based on the application of game theory is proposed, in which the HEV operation is viewed as a non-cooperative game between the driver and the powertrain.

A global Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) programme has yet to emerge, many countries consolidate their national markets into larger “Trading Blocs” e.g. European Union, USA and Japan. Within Europe, government agencies and companies have demonstrated ITS research co-operation in form of: DRIVE I; DRIVE II; DRIVE III; PROMETHEUS; and PROMOTE. In USA, government agencies, private sectors, academic institutes and transport organisations with ITS America, have created Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) administration. In Japan government agencies like Ministry of International Trade and Industry, National Police Agency, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Posts and Communications control projects of Advanced Transport Telematics (ATT). This paper presents the “Globalisation” of ITS industry, where macroenvironmental factors are reviewed. Following the analysis, feasibility of a global holistic ITS programme will be determined.

The potential benefit for vehicles travelling in ‘platoon’ formations arises from a reduction in total aerodynamic drag which can result from the interaction of bluff bodies in close-proximity. During the 1980s this was considered as an opportunity to alleviate congestion and also for fuel-saving in response to the fuel crises of the 1970s. Early interest was limited partly due to the level of available control technology. But recent developments in vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems and autonomous driving technologies have provided the potential for platooning to be incorporated within future traffic management systems prompting renewed interest. For the investigation described in this paper, a new passenger car model was designed as the basis for determining the effectiveness of future low-drag styles in platoon formations. Small-scale models were tested in the Coventry University Wind Tunnel in platoons of up to 5 vehicles.

The potential benefit for passenger cars when travelling in a ‘platoon’ formation results from the total aerodynamic drag reduction which may result from the interaction of bluff bodies in close-proximity. In the 1980s this was considered as an opportunity to alleviate congestion and also for fuel-saving in response to the oil crises of the 1970s. Early interest was limited by the availability of suitable systems to control vehicle spacing. However, recent developments in communication and control technologies intended for connected and autonomous driving applications has provided the potential for ‘platooning’ to be incorporated within future traffic management systems. The study described in this paper uses a systematic approach to changes in vehicle shape in order to identify the sensitivity of the benefits of platooning to vehicle style.

Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) have been widely used in electrified vehicles, and the battery thermal management (BTM) system is needed to maintain the temperature that is critical to battery performance, safety, and health. Conventionally, three-dimensional battery thermal models are developed at the early stage to guide the design of the BTM system, in which battery thermophysical parameters (radial thermal conductivity, axial thermal conductivity, and specific heat capacity) are required. However, in most literature, those parameters were estimated with greatly different values (up to one order of magnitude). In this paper, an investigation is carried out to evaluate the magnitude of the influence of those parameters on the battery simulation results. The study will determine if accurate measurements of battery thermophysical parameters are necessary.

With the development of internet technology and autonomous vehicles (AVs), the multimodal transportation and distribution model based on AVs will be a typical application paradigm in the smart city scenario. Before AVs carry out logistics distribution, it is necessary to plan a reasonable distribution path based on each customer point, and this is also known as Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). Unlike traditional VRP, the urban logistics distribution process based on multimodal transportation mode will use a set of different types of AVs, mainly including autonomous ground vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is worth pointing out that there is currently no research on combining the planning of AVs distribution paths with the trajectory planning of UAVs. To address this issue, this article establishes a bilevel programming model. The upper-level model aims to plan the optimal delivery plan for AVs, while the lower-level model aims to plan a driving trajectory for UAVs.