EV Magazine May 2023 | Page 59

CONNECTED CAR

CONNECTED CAR

Understanding how to control the component that manages the energy flow within an EV is what sets them apart from their ICE counterparts . As we see more autonomous driving capabilities appearing industry wide , the combination of automation and advanced inverter technologies will enable OEMs to make cars that are built to react to incidents on the road , but act accordingly , leveraging a more controllable system in the process .
“ The EV world and the autonomy world are going to come together at some point ,” says Lambert . “ This means making sure that EVs have a system for taking over the drivetrain . So , in the case of a failure in the autonomous controller stack , they can take control of the vehicle and automate a safe stop .”
Maximum safety is key for OEMs , but to really understand how they achieve this , they must first understand the regulations at play . Enabling safety in wave two of the overall electrification of vehicles will allow them to progress further , where the third wave is all about increasing efficiency and reducing the cost and energy consumption .
“ In wave three of electrification , it ’ s all about efficiency . We believe that , when you start looking at efficiency , you enter a virtuous cycle . As you make your drivetrain more efficient , you can reduce your battery size while achieving the same range , as well as the weight of the vehicle .”