International Transportation (70) 1 | 2018 47 Academics SCIENCE & RESEARCH Projects in a nutshell Overview of selected mobility research projects Sensors on speaking terms T he objective of the research project SADA is to develop technology that enables linking data from mobile on-boardsensors (on vehicles) with data from an unknown stationary sensor infrastructure in an intelligent and flexible way, independent from brand, manufacturer, or application area. SADA will enable the unrestricted dynamic integration and analysis of data from various heterogeneous sensors. This should be used for example to support driving comfort functions, to promote driving safety, and to contribute to environment protection by preventing traffic jams and searches for parking space. Modern cars are equipped with an increasing amount of onboard sensors. The expected market penetration of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), including autonomous driving, will turn future cars and trucks into moving measuring stations. In many cities, also traffic infrastructure is or is being equipped with sensors, gathering current information about traffic flow, traffic load, or parking space occupancy. A combined assessment of data from stationary infrastructure sensors and mobile sensors in cars may contribute to optimize the utilization of traffic infrastructure, reduce traffic jams and searches for parking space, and decrease the emission of CO 2 and particulate matter. For electric vehicles in particular, this evolution creates many opportunities to raise the benefit and the acceptance of such vehicles. For example: • Range prediction and driving style adjustment for optimized use of energy • Autonomous driving of the “last stage”, e.g. to get to the loading station • Systematic degradation to increase the range • Better environment perception for situational reaction, e.g. warning pedestrians through sound, avoiding unnecessary deceleration • Organized operation of vehicles in fleets, e.g. car sharing, follower function in a platoon However, the combination of data from mobile units and infrastructure is normally not put into practice today. There are no methods to use the many existing components in a modular fashion and to recombine them flexibly. One fundamental reason for this is that sensors and evaluation procedures, including necessary hardware and software, are developed independently and are not standardized. Therefore, sensors and data logging systems from different manufacturers and application areas cannot communicate with each other. In the joint research project SADA, solutions are developed for a dynamic integration and processing of data derived from various, non-concerted sensors. The project will demonstrate how data collected by onboard sensors of a car may be combined intelligently and very flexibly with data from an unknown stationary sensor infrastructure. This shall lead to situational implementations of complex new application ideas. Under the direction of Siemens, six partners from industry and research cooperate in this joint research project. As its demonstration platform, SADA uses the EO Smart Connecting Car 2 (EOscc2), a concept car developed by the DFKI RIC. EOscc2 is a highly flexible robotic electric vehicle with extended four wheel steering which allows driving sideways and diagonally as well as turning on the spot. The car is able to shrink by almost 80 cm in length. These capabilities facilitate parking in the city. Through its modular design, EOscc2 may be extended by modules for additional functions, e.g. for storage or passengers. Within the SADA Project, this concept is implemented as a range extender, i.e. as a trailer with extra batteries. More information: www.projekt-sada.de Vehicle networking with its environment Source: Siemens EO Smart Connecting Car 2 (EOscc2) Source: DFKI GmbH/ Timo Birnschein International Transportation (70) 1 | 2018 48 SCIENCE & RESEARCH Academics Scenario 2050: Lithium and Cobalt might not suffice W ith the increased significance of lithium-ion batteries, the pressure on the availabiltity of relevant ressources rises. Lithium and cobalt are fundamental components of present lithium-ion batteries. Analysis by researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) shows that the availability of both elements could become seriously critical. Besides lithium as charge carrier, cobalt is a fundamental component of the cathode in present lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), determining the high energy and power density as well as the long lifetime. However, this element is suffering from scarcity and toxicity issues. “In general, the rapidly growing market penetration of LIBs for electromobility applications, such as fully electric cars, will lead to an increasing demand for raw materials, especially with respect to lithium and cobalt”, says Professor Stefano Passerini, who supervised the study together with Dr. Daniel Buchholz at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm. Their scenario-based analysis until 2050 for various applications of batteries shows that the shortage and price increase of cobalt are likely to occur, since the cobalt demand by batteries might be twice as high as the today’s identified reserves. In contrast, today’s identified lithium reserves are expected to be much less strained, but the production will have to be strongly upscaled (possibly more than ten times, depending on the scenario) to match the future demand. Source: Festo BionicFlyingFox: Ultra-lightweight flying object with-intelligent kinematics D evelopers from the Bionic Learning Network of German automation company Festo took a close look at the flying fox and technically implemented its special flying characteristics into the “BionicFlying- Fox”. Due to the combination of the integrated on-board electronics with an external motion-tracking system, the ultra-lightweight flying object is able to move semi-autonomously in a defined airspace. The flying fox belongs to the order Chiroptera - the only mammals that can actively fly. A particular characteristic is the fine elastic flying membrane that stretches from the extended metacarpal and finger bones down to the foot joints. In flight, the animals control the curvature of the flying membrane with their fingers, allowing them to move aerodynamically and agilely through the air. They thereby achieve maximum uplift, even when performing slow flying manoeuvres. With a wingspan of 228 cm and a body length of 87 cm, the artificial flying fox weighs just 580 g. Like the natural flying fox, its wing kinematics are also divided into primaries and secondaries and covered with an elastic membrane, which continues from the wings down to the feet. This makes its wing area relatively large, allowing a low area loading. As with the biological model, all the articulation points are on one plane, meaning that the BionicFlyingFox can control and fold its wings together individually. The model’s flying membrane is waferthin, ultralight whilst also robust. It consists of two airtight films and a knitted elastane fabric, which are welded together at approximately 45,000 points. Due to its elasticity, it stays almost uncreased, even when the wings are retracted. The fabric’s honeycomb structure prevents small cracks in the flying membrane from getting bigger. This means that the BionicFlyingFox can continue flying even if the fabric sustains minor damage. The BionicFlyingFox is able to move semi-autonomously in a defined space, it communicates with a motion-tracking system. The installation constantly records its position. At the same time, the system plans the flight paths and delivers the necessary control commands for this. A person performs the start and landing manually. The autopilot takes over in flight. An important part of the external motion-tracking system is two infrared cameras. They detect the flying fox by means of four active infrared markers attached to the legs and wing tips. The images from the cameras go to a central master computer. It evaluates the data and coordinates the flight from outside like an air traffic controller. In addition, pre-programmed paths are stored on the computer, which specify the flight path for the Bionic- FlyingFox when performing its manoeuvres. The wing movements required to ideally implement the intended courses are calculated by the artificial flying fox itself with the help of its on-board electronics and complex behaviour patterns. The flying fox gets the control algorithms necessary for this from the master computer, where they are automatically learnt and constantly improved. The Bionic- FlyingFox is thus able to optimise its behaviour during the flights and thereby follow the specified courses more precisely with each circuit flown. In this respect, the controls are governed by the movement of the legs and hence the adjustable wing area. www.festo.com/ bionic See the BionicFlyingFox in action: www.festo.com/ group/ en/ cms/ 13130.htm International Transportation (70) 1 | 2018 49 Academics SCIENCE & RESEARCH Redox Flow Battery: Storage System for the Energy Transition T he redox flow battery might be a key component in the future power grids: It can be scaled as desired, recycled, and it ensures stable energy storage. Moreover, no scarce resources are needed for its production. So far, however, adaptation of the batteries to each application scenario has been required. In future, this will be accomplished by a novel battery management system developed by researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The energy transition requires solutions for the decentralized storage of solar and wind power and the balancing of fluctuating production capacities. Centralized solutions, such as pump-storage power plants, are associated with enormous space and capital requirements. It would be easiest to store the power decentrally in batteries. Apart from the established lithium-ion batteries, the innovative redox flow battery technology is given increasing interest. Here, electrical energy is stored in liquid chemical compounds. Frequently, a vanadium electrolyte is used, which is stored in tanks in various oxidation states. Similar to the fuel cell, the current is produced at a membrane. The size of this membrane determines the power (kW), while the energy (kWh) depends on the tank size, i.e. the amount of liquid used. Hence, energy and power of the redox flow battery can be scaled independently of each other. Due to the small energy density, redox flow batteries are large and heavy - lightweight lithium-ion accumulators are much better suited for electronic devices and electric vehicles. On the other hand the vanadium used for the common accumulator is among the most abundant elements, whereas worldwide lithium resources might be exhausted in a few decades from now. And the redox flow battery is fireproof, because a thermal runaway, uncontrolled heating, can be excluded. It is less toxic and it can be recycled contrary to the lithium-ion battery. No breakthrough of flow technology has been achieved yet. To change this, Thomas Leibfried and his team at KIT’s Institute of Electric Energy Systems and High-Voltage Engineering have developed an automatic battery management system. This system ensures that the redox flow battery is always operated at the point of highest efficiency both in the charge and the discharge cycle, no matter for which purpose it is applied. Its electric efficiency is mainly determined by the pumping speed: If pump operation is accelerated, its internal resistance decreases. Hence, loss during energy conversion decreases as well. However, the system needs more energy for the pump. Depending on the power needed or supplied during operation, the new battery management system finds the ideal compromise. Another important component for efficient operation is the thermal management system, because cooling also needs energy and has to take place at the right time. As soon as the prototype will have demonstrated its functionality, the battery management system will be miniaturized: The mature version will fit onto a microchip. www.energy.kit.edu However, both elements additionally suffer from strong geographical concentration, moreover in countries which are reported to be less politically stable. According to the researchers, this gives rise to strong concerns about a possible shortage and associated price increase of LIBs in the near future. “It is therefore indispensable to expand the research activities towards alternative battery technologies in order to decrease these risks and reduce the pressure on cobalt and lithium reserves”, says Daniel Buchholz. Stefano Passerini, HIU deputy director, emphasises: “Post-lithium systems are especially appealing for electromobility and stationary applications. This is why it is both very important and urgent to unlock their potential and develop these innovative, high-energy batteries towards market maturity.” These results are further confirmed by the global scenario for battery applications in the field of electromobility until the year 2050, recently developed at HIU and published as book chapter. “The future availability of cobalt for the mass production of LIBs has to be classified as very critical, which is also evident from the price increase of cobalt higher than 120 % within one year (2016-2017)“, HIU system analyst Dr. Marcel Weil points out. In addition, the establishment of a battery economy with a high rate of recycling would certainly be imperative to decrease the pressure on critical materials. Both studies highlight the importance of new battery technologies based on low-cost, abundant and, at best, non-toxic elements, demonstrating the importance of their further development in order to decrease the pressure on critical resources. REFERENCES: C. Vaalma, D. Buchholz, M. Weil and S. Passerini: A cost and resource analysis of sodium-ion batteries. Nat. Rev. Mater. 3, 18013 (2018). Online: http: / / rdcu.be/ IWu1 M. Weil, S. Ziemann, J. Peters: The Issue of Metal Resources in Li-Ion Batteries for Electric vehicles. In: Behaviour of Lithium-ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles. Amsterdam, 2018 Regions with highly concentrated reserves: the “lithium triangle” in South America and, for cobalt, the “copperbelt” in Central Africa. Source: Nature Reviews Materials, Macmillan Publishers Ltd International Transportation (70) 1 | 2018 50 SCIENCE & RESEARCH Academics Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence at Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) T he University of Amsterdam officially launched an Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) which is focused on the joint development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology through industry labs with the business sector, government and knowledge institutes. Maarten de Rijke, director of ICAI and professor of Information Retrieval at the University of Amsterdam: “The Netherlands has all the resources to take up a prominent position in the international AI landscape - top talent, innovation strength and research at world-class level.” In the joint ICAI-Ahold Delhaize industry lab, the AIRLab, seven PhDs will conduct research into socially responsible algorithms that can be used to make recommendations to consumers and into transparent AI technology for managing goods flows. The research will take place at Albert Heijn and bol.com, both brands of Ahold Delhaize. In addition, AIRLab will focus on talent development tracks. Frans Muller, deputy CEO Ahold Delhaize: “Artificial Intelligence offers countless possibilities for the retail industry, the consumer and society at large. With this partnership, we want to further develop our ongoing initiatives and learn how AI can be used to better serve the interests of our customers. For instance, we will look at how to further optimise Albert Heijn’s supply chain by, for example, improving the availability of goods by taking into account local weather conditions.” Artificial intelligence is today’s foremost technological innovation and promises to bring about major changes in society. AI investment is taking flight worldwide. ICAI is an open collaborative initiative between knowledge institutes that is aimed at AI innovation through public-private partnerships. The Center is located at Amsterdam Science Park and is initiated by the University of Amsterdam and the VU University Amsterdam together with the business sector and government. The organisation is built around industry labs - multi-year partnerships between academic and industrial partners aimed at technological and talent development. ICAI will be housed in a new co-development building where teaching, research and collaboration with the business sector and societal partners will come together. www.uva.nl Artificial Intelligence Source: pixabay.de The easier way of hydrogen production U sing light to convert stable and abundant molecules like water and CO 2 into a high energy fuel (hydrogen) or into chemicals of industrial interest, is a major research challenge today. However, achieving artificial photosynthesis in solution remains limited by the use of costly and toxic metal-based compounds to harvest light. Researchers at the Département de Chimie Moléculaire (CNRS/ Université Grenoble Alpes) and SyMMES (CNRS/ CEA/ Université Grenoble Alpes) now demonstrated an efficient alternative: It is possible to produce hydrogen very efficiently by combining inorganic semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) formed of a copper and indium sulfide core protected by a zinc sulfide shell, with a cobalt-based molecular catalyst. This “hybrid” system combines the excellent visible light absorption properties and the great stability of inorganic semiconductors with the efficacy of molecular catalysts. In the presence of excess vitamin C, which provides electrons to the system, it shows remarkable catalytic activity in water, the best obtained to date with cadmium-free quantum dots. This system’s performance is much higher than that obtained with a ruthenium-based photosensitizer, due to the very high stability of inorganic quantum dots, which can be recycled several times without notable loss of activity. These results show the high potential of such hybrid systems for hydrogen production using solar energy. M. Sandroni, R. Gueret, K. D. Wegner, P. Reiss, J. Fortage, D. Aldakov, and M.-N. Collomb: Cadmium-Free CuInS2/ ZnS Quantum Dots as Efficient and Robust Photosensitizers in combination with a Molecular Catalyst for Visible Light-Driven H2 Production in Water. In: Energy & Environmental Science, 10 April 2018. DOI: 10.1039/ c8ee00120k. Source: CNRS/ CEA/ Université Grenoble Alpes