Energy Optimal Autonomous Drivin

g Based on MPC

Nagoya University School of Engineering

G30 Automotive Engineering
SUZUKI Laboratory
M2 - Zhi Liang TAN

Previous Research
Computation of Energy-Optimal Velocity Profile for Electric
Vehicle Considering Slope of Route

Minimize the energy loss of the electric vehicle while driving

along a specified path with consideration of a slope
Formulation of optimization problem to minimize the energy loss,
considering vehicle model, slope and other constraints
Identification of cost function from real driving data using COMS
Computation of optimal velocity profile.

Vehicle & Energy Loss Model

Vehicle Model:
Discrete state equation based on the point mass model:

Approximated Energy Loss:

where
Constants to are combinations of the motor parameters, and
& are the linear velocity and acceleration of the EV obtained from angular
velocity of the motor, and the radius of the wheel.
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Problem Formulation
Given
Where
is the final time &
D is the total length of the path

oefficients: ~ ,
Boundary Conditions:
, , ,0,

Which minimizes

Find

subject to

&

Slope Equation
} 9.8
Where is the slope equation multiplied by the gravitational acceleration

Identification of cost function f

rom real data
The to coefficients are to be identified
C coefficient for the route can be determined from the below method:

1.
2.
3.

data can be found using real EV experiment

which is the power consumption of the motor can be computed
Data for the elevation of the route can be used to find the difference in
height between final height and initial height
where

is the Power Loss vector

is the state matrix
is the C-vector

Energy cost function

New Research Background

Further improvements on Electric Vehicles (EV) and hybrid
electric vehicles (HEV) are needed for increased adoption
This includes minimizing the energy loss of EV/HEV battery
Autonomous driving is an increasingly popular field with many
companies and researchers currently working on it

Main Idea

Applying MPC controller to autonomously control the EV/HEV

Solving optimization problem with energy cost function
Minimizing energy loss of battery
Safety constraints should be included in the cost function

Literature Review
Online

MPC based PHEV Energy Managem

ent using Conic Interior-Point Methods
(Vadamalu et al., 2016)
A Learning-Based Framework for Velocity
Control in Autonomous Driving
(Lefevre et al., 2016)

A Learning-Based Framework f
or Velocity Control in Autonom
ous Driving

Objective of this research is to provide a method for p

ersonalizing the driving style of an autonomous vehicl
e.

Formulation as an MPC problem. Vehicle model, safe

ty constraints, cost function and MPC formulation are
given in the paper. However vehicle is an ICE vehicle.

Online MPC based PHEV Energ

y Management using Conic Int
erior-Point Methods

Online optimization of Energy Management system b

ased on Model Predictive Control is proposed in the p
aper. PHEV EM problem formulated as a continuous t
ime optimization problem minimizing fuel consumptio
n.

MPC structure is given in the paper. Introduction of th

e formulation of the optimization problem as Second
Order Cone Program (SOCP).
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Conclusion
Summary
Improving on my undergraduate research topic
Understanding more fully the contents of the papers I have read
Determining the direction of my research topic with regards to my
research ideas
Developing a deeper understanding of MPC theory

Schedule
October
Early November
Late November, December
January, February, March

: Literature Review
: MPC study
: Start and continuation of research topic

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Thank you
for your attention

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Initial Experiment Data

For the route of Toyota Auditorium

to GREMO office:

Route from Toyota Auditorium to

GREMO Office

Data collected during the initial experiment are as shown above

Information recorded includes the instantaneous voltage and current, elevation of the road
for both routes, as well as the instantaneous velocity and acceleration.

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17

Slope Equation
With the data collected from the
experiment, the elevation profile of
the routes can be determined
GPS data for the elevation profile
are not too accurate.
However estimation of the equation
of the profile can be obtained using
the Least Mean Squares Method
Curve Fitting Toolbox of MATLAB

Slope Equation

where
x(t) = Distance travelled
f(x(t)) = Function of the slope

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Experiment Venue
Route from Toyota Auditorium to
GREMO Office

Route 1

The collection of data was done for 2 paths,

Route 1 and Route 2.
Route 1 starts from Toyota Auditorium and ends
at the GREMO Office
Route 2 is the loop around Toyota Auditorium

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Obtained Coefficients

The to for both Routes 1 and 2 are found to have the values as shown
below:

C coefficients
for Route 1

C coefficients
for Route 2

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Results Comparison
Route 1

Route 2

With the data collected from the experiment, the elevation profile of the routes can be
determined
GPS data for the elevation profile are not too accurate.
However estimation of the equation of the profile can be obtained using the Least Mean
Squares Method Curve Fitting Toolbox of MATLAB
21

Motor Model

The instantaneous current i(t) in the motor is given by:

(1)
and the voltage, e(t) across the motor is given by:

where
(t) is the angular velocity of the motor,
and are back-electromotive force and torque constants,
TF and TL are internal and load frictional torques,
is the internal damping, and
and are motor and load moments of inertia.

Structure of the rotor of the

motor used in COMS
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Results Comparison
Route 1

With the data collected from the experiment, the elevation profile of the routes can be
determined
GPS data for the elevation profile are not too accurate.
However estimation of the equation of the profile can be obtained using the Least Mean
Squares Method Curve Fitting Toolbox of MATLAB
23

No Slope for Route 1

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Identification of cost function f

rom real data

Schematics
for Circuit

PLC:
Programmable
Logic
Controller

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