It is a sunny day in Versailles. While hordes of tourist congregate in front of the famous palace of Louis XIV, we get ready to shoot the second part of the ecoDriver video at the premises of the French Institute of Science and Technology for Transport, Development and Networks (IFSTTAR).
IFSTTAR is a public research organisation devoted to transport and infrastructure. The role of IFSTTAR within the ecoDriver project includes leadership of the Evaluation and Effectiveness sub-project, as well as leading work-packages on Powertrain Model Development and Emissions and Fuel Consumption.
Their main focus is on the application of the system in manual, internal combustion engine cars, although they expect to be able to apply the Android system to electric and hybrid vehicles in the future. The Android system, unlike the full ecoDriver system (FeDS), does not require the installation of complex computation mechanisms in the car. In contrast, it is able to operate on any Android phone with Internet connection, although better performances are obtained when associated with a bluetooth OBD scanner.
Moreover, IFSTTAR has developed a protocol to mix naturalistic driving experiments (with 10 volunteers trying the Android app) with controlled driving experiments (with 10 volunteers trying the smartphone app and 10 others trying the FeDS). In the control experiments, the volunteer drivers have to drive on the same route once a month for six months. In turn, the naturalistic driving experiments consist of constantly collecting data from the participants and their own cars, Renault Clio, during 6 months.
Collecting data from all the project partners across Europe will make it possible to assess the effectiveness of all the ecoDriver systems: the FeDS, the nomadic system, and also the TomTom and the BMW versions. As IFSTTAR researcher Guillaume Saint Pierre highlights: “Comparing these systems will give us precious clues for market deployment in the future, and ideas on how to optimise the system”.
Selection of pictures and quotes
Mickaël Messias (Androïd application engineer)
“I find the application very practical because we have a track record of the entire trip that allows us to see all the positive and negative driving behaviours. We can also compare the results with friends, and see how to improve our eco-driving. The negative point of the system could be the high amount of information received while driving in the city”
Olivier Orfila (Researcher and IFSTTAR scientific leader)
“The main specificity of the system developed by IFSTTAR is that it is nomadic, meaning that everyone with a smartphone can use it. The application is based on open data sets: mainly open street map that give information about the road infrastructure, and open data coming from cars through OBD2”
Guillaume Saint Pierre (Researcher and SP4 leader)
“The IFSTTAR approach is to democratise ITS solutions in Europe, by developing free or very cheap systems for everyday driving that you can install or uninstall easily. In the future, we would like to see ecoDriver becoming your private driving professor”
For more information, visit the ecoDriver website
