COMPREDICT’s Virtual Sensors optimize the management of electric utility fleets
Watèa by Michelin, a turnkey electric mobility solution offering electric vehicles, digital services and convenient access to recharging infrastructure, integrates COMPREDICT’s Virtual Sensors into its electric mobility offer. Based on COMPREDICT’s mass estimator, Watèa by Michelin provides fleet managers with key indicators that allow them to fully exploit the potential of their electric vehicles.
Darmstadt, Germany – March 24, 2022
Fleet managers of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) frequently need to know the mass transported during the day in order to provide each driver with the right vehicle for his or her mission, optimize maintenance and gain a better understanding of operations in the field. However, there is currently no pure software solution to continuously determine the mass of these light vehicles. The TCO cost of hardware sensors is often considered prohibitive by industry professionals.
COMPREDICT, a technology start-up based in Darmstadt/Germany, has developed a software solution that provides loads, fatigue and residual life estimates for various vehicle components, from 12/24V batteries to complete transmissions, using data already available on board. COMPREDICT’s algorithms are able to calculate the carried mass after only a few minutes of each trip. Watèa by Michelin integrates this mass estimator into its comprehensive solution, and displays the mass continuously for each vehicle on its platform.
This mass estimator is a key asset for the charging strategy of electric vehicles. One of the major obstacles to the adoption of electric vehicles by fleets is the uncertainty surrounding the autonomy of their batteries. Indeed, the estimation of the autonomy by the on-board battery management system (BMS) remains very unsatisfactory for commercial applications, because, among other things, it does not take into account the transported mass, which strongly impacts the driving range of a vehicle.
With the COMPREDICT technology, Watèa by Michelin will be able to fine-tune its range management tools.