Typisch bremisch Typically “Bremish”

Model region electromobility: will the EO come?
Innovations also include electromobility. The Metropolitan
Region Bremen-Oldenburg in the Northwest is one of
eight model regions set up by the German government
to put electromobility through practical trials. Under the
auspices of the Frauenhofer Institute for Manufacturing
Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) and the
German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI),
Bremen is working at the future of the automobile and
mobility.
For Frank Kirchner, part of this future could be the EO
Smart Connecting Car. Admittedly, neither the name nor
the design convinces marketing experts at the moment.
Kirchner, Professor for Computer Science at the University
of Bremen and Head of the Robotics Innovation Centre
at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence
(DFKI), knows this. But he is concerned about something
else entirely: “We must shake off our preconceived ideas or
what a car should look like”, he says. The EO is more like a
robot that you can sit in.
The idea for the EO was the result of a bit of doodling
during the lunch break, says Kirchner. “We wondered
what future mobility could look like. The basic idea was a
modular system that can be adapted to a whole range of
different needs.” High adaptability is one of the Professor’s
key research accents. He has already designed mobile
robots for use on Mars or way down in the deep sea.
“A crucial aspect consists in putting the drive motors directly
on the wheels”, he explains. Conventional vehicles
have a central engine with a system of rods for mechanical
transfer of the drive force to the wheels. An EO module
consists of an axle with two wheels and with its own integrated
electric motor. Any number of these modules can
be combined. The EO can therefore shrink for a trip into
town, grow to take the family shopping or become flat
and long for a run on the motorway.
The first prototype was ready after just eighteen months
of work. The second is currently being produced and aims
to bring the EO a bit closer to actually running on the
road. Kirchner’s team is putting a great deal of work into
the steering. The EO is steered by electronic pulses with a
drive-by-wire system similar to that used for the landing
flaps in an airplane. But the German Technical Inspection
Agency TÜV currently does not permit this kind of drive in
cars. The vehicle needs an additional mechanical steering
system in case the electric system fails. “Unfortunately, this
results in added weight, but we’re putting this kind of
solution into effect”, says Kirchner. He sees his modular
vehicles being used primarily in demarcated areas. The
trade-fair company Deutsche Messe AG has already shown
interest.
Fun with electric cars
Matthias Busse loves cars. The doctor and professor of
mechanical engineering worked among others for Volks -
wagen before becoming Director of the Frauenhofer
Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced
Materials (IFAM) in Bremen in 2003. Meanwhile he is responsible
for all system research into electromobility by
the Fraunhofer Society – this is a major programme covering
about 20 Fraunhofer institutes. The versatile scientist,
who studied music as well as engineering, wants to prove
that electric cars can also be fun to drive.
This is why the small cars of various makes in the IFAM
fleet are also joined by two sports cars – a Fisker and a
Tesla Roadster. When it sets off from the traffic lights, the
electric speedster from the USA, which is funded among
others by Daimler as well as Toyota, leaves every Porsche
way behind. Busse believes in the future of e-mobility.
After all, electric vehicles are far more effective in terms of
energy, he says: “When you refuel a conventional vehicle,
only 25 to 28 percent of the energy actually gets put on to
the road. Our current vehicles are rolling heating systems.
An electric car uses 90 percent of the energy on board.”
But to achieve a sustainable improvement in the carbon
footprint, it will also be necessary to ensure that the electricity
is generated from regenerative sources.
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