AI for safe, efficient EVs

Issue #220, October 15, 2023

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly becoming a handy tool in all stages in the lifecycle of an automobile, specifically electric vehicles (EVs). It is not just used for autonomous driving in the vehicle, but also from its design to manufacture, operation, maintenance and end-of-life. Battery design is one example, to test the numerous combinations of materials that are possible, to find the best option. Lightweighting of parts is another use case. Technologies are not just for driver safety, but pedestrian safety too. But the trolley challenge continues to draw the thin line between driver safety and passenger safety. Mercedes-Benz preferred the driver safety and faced some backlash for it. Honda and Mitsubishi are forming a joint venture to plug-in EVs into power grids to manage fluctuations from renewable energy sources. In India, Maruti Suzuki has half the passenger car market share and and wants to look beyond EVs to diversity its portfolio of vehicles. Below are some recent media updates on how AI and digital technologies play a key role in the future of the automotive industry and more specifically for its electrification and digitization.

AI and battery research

Building better batteries is a tough technical challenge. AI might be able to help. New batteries dreamed up in a lab have a long journey before they can be produced at large scales. It’s a road that can take well over a decade to traverse. There’s an almost unfathomable number of potential materials, and combinations of materials, to use in batteries. Machine learning can sort through a wide range of options. Generative AI can design new materials. Large language models can help researchers work faster. - MIT Technology Review

AI and innovation

Volvo cars have long had a reputation for safety. Today’s engineers are using technologies like AI to continue enhancing vehicle safety. For sustainability, AI is being used there to make sure that we have as many lightweight parts as possible. We speak about the customer digital twin and vehicle digital twin and so on. - MIT Sloan Management Review

Tech for pedestrian safety

For active safety, a key preventive technology is automatic/autonomous emergency braking (AEB). This system automatically applies the brakes when a vehicle's cameras and sensors detect a pedestrian at risk. AEB has become common for new cars in Europe. It's not a perfect technology; it works best at low speeds, and performance can suffer at night or with darting movements of pedestrians. But it's becoming more sophisticated and varied. Car manufacturers are increasingly using lidar alongside radar as AEB sensors. - BBC

Autonomous cars and trolley challenge

When it comes to prioritizing the safety of passengers over bystanders, makers of autonomous vehicles have to walk a fine line. In 2016, a Mercedes-Benz executive said that in developing autonomous vehicles (AVs), the company would prioritize the safety of its customers over that of bystanders and other drivers. The company probably did not expect the media backlash that ensued. “Mercedes-Benz admits automated driverless cars would run over a CHILD rather than swerve and risk injuring the passengers inside,” a Daily Mail headline announced. Within a week, the carmaker publicly backed away from its position, stating that “neither programmers nor automated systems are entitled to weigh the value of human lives.” - WSJ

Power grids and EVs

Honda and Mitsubishi Corp. plan to enter a joint venture in 2024 that will plug EVs into the main grid to help with power fluctuations caused by renewables. Honda Motor will create a utility business by connecting EVs to the grid and using them for the supply and storage of electricity. The two companies are also looking into the possibility of forming a broader partnership in the energy field, including energy management services and recycling rare metals from used batteries. Mitsubishi is already a major renewable energy generator. - Nikkei Asia

Diversifying beyond EVs

Maruti Suzuki is hedging its bets when it comes to introducing EVs in India, even as the electrification wave gains momentum in other Asian markets. In addition to introducing its half a dozen EV models in the coming years, Maruti Suzuki says it will explore hybrids and cars running on alternative fuels such as hydrogen, compressed natural gas and "flex fuel" made of a mix of gasoline and ethanol.

"We don't think any one single technology may be sufficient to lead us to our [climate] goals," Rahul Bharti, executive director in charge of corporate planning and government affairs at Maruti Suzuki. - Nikkei Asia