Intelligent off-board management of vehicle operating parameters

Today´s modern vehicle has a number of on-board embedded control systems that perform a number of functions. These systems provide for a higher user convenience (e.g., cruise control), better safety (e.g., air bag systems), and lower pollutant emissions (e.g., energy and emission control systems). These systems generally operate autonomously, relying on internal state information. In this paper, we describe how these embedded systems can be improved upon through the use of external information provided through ITS telematic capability. There are several examples of this, such as dynamic intelligent speed adaptation, energy management strategies for hybrid electric and fuel-cell vehicles, and dynamically controlled emission control systems. These different application areas and methods are described herein. Further, a number of simulation experiments have been carried for the case of controlling the vehicle operating parameters of a heavy-duty vehicle´s emission control system. It has been shown that by simply changing the emission control strategy based on location can result in significantly lower emissions in critical areas at a relatively low cost.