Ford, University of Michigan look to simulation for hybrid design

Ford and the University of Michigan are looking at the use of extensive simulations to improve fuel economy and drivability of hybrid vehicles. Ford reports, “Through virtual testing, researchers are conducting as many as 175,000 design simulations of hybrid control systems a week,” based on the analysis of data from 2500 road trips. Ford said that working with the university, it has tested “…nearly 1 million design simulations of hybrid vehicle control systems to date….”Dr. Gerhard Schmidt, chief technical officer at Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, said, “Working together with the University of Michigan research team, we are testing the boundaries of hybrid vehicle technology, exploring innovative ways to raise the bar on fuel economy and drivability. This joint work on hybrid software development shows great promise in helping us lead the development of more efficient hybrid systems for the future.”

As a result of the work, hybrid owners could potentially select software that optimizes their driving experience.

The work on the part of Ford and the University of Michigan is representative on a trend to collect real-world data and bring it back to the lab and apply it to hardware prototypes or software simulations in an effort to iron out problems without having to resort to prohibitively expensive and time-consuming drive tests. The technique also finds use in wireless communications test, where a single drive test can capture and store real-world transmit signals that can be replayed repeatedly in a lab to test receiver prototypes. I’ll be addressing such topics in more detail in the November 12 and December 15 issues of EDN.

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