Ricardo : to show latest in vehicle technology at Light Electric Vehicle Summit, Barcelona

Proving that autonomous light electric vehicles are sufficiently safe for highway operation, crafting the right noise signature for operational and brand expectation requirements, and creating new electrical/electronic architecture - including a new tilting 4-wheeler architecture for L-category vehicles - are among the key challenges to be featured in technology presentations by Ricardo at the first Light Electric Vehicle Summit (LEVS), Barcelona, on 20-21 September.

The world Light Electric Vehicle Summit aims to provide a high quality global platform for the exchange of views and the development of synergies between players in the field. The need for such a forum has never been greater, as cities around the world struggle to meet the challenges of congestion and air quality.

The Ricardo group has expert teams across a wide range of the technological areas of relevance to the light electric vehicle sector. The company's presentations at the LEVS conference include How to prove autonomous electric vehicles are safe enough.This will build upon Ricardo's expertise in safety case development for vehicles such as the WEpod, a six-seater autonomous vehicle that will initially operate on the campus of Wageningen University, located in the town of the same name in the central Netherlands. The potential for over-the-air updates, connectivity and enhanced cyber-security to open the way for a completely new electrical/electronic architecture for light electric vehicles will also be described in the paper A New EE architecture designed to unlock new opportunities.The presentation will demonstrate how this can enable a better understanding of user behaviour and requirements, as well as much improved predictive maintenance.

Recognizing the importance of sound in the development of brand character, Ricardo's approach to the acoustic engineering of electric vehicles is the theme of Motor sound quality augmentation to support driver involvement and enhance product image. This presentation describes how Ricardo's Electric Vehicle Augmented Sound technology can help engineer sound that powerfully conveys the brand image to the driver and passengers, and provides driver involvement by giving instant feedback about how a car is operating.

The final paper to be presented by Ricardo is RESOLVE - a new vehicle architecture for urban mobility. RESOLVE (Range of Electric Solutions for L-category Vehicles) is a consortium of companies and universities that work together to develop a cost-effective, energy efficient and comfortable ELV's (Electric Light Vehicle), a project funded by the EU Research and Innovation programme 'Horizon 2020'. Two tilting four-wheeler ELV demonstrators of the category L2e and L6e will be developed, with challenging consumptions targets of 35 Wh/km and 41 Wh/km.

'Ricardo is pleased to be able to make such a wide range of very strong contributions to the first Light Electric Vehicle Summit,' commented Dr Robert Hentschel, managing director of Ricardo Germany and head of the company's activities in the motorcycle and urban mobility sectors. 'With cities struggling to cope with the challenges of increasing populations, congestion and air quality, the requirement for light electric vehicles to meet urban mobility needs is likely to increase significantly. As our papers and presentations demonstrate, Ricardo is in the forefront of meeting these challenges, and is ready to assist manufacturers in the light electric vehicle market deliver the products that customers require to build a more sustainable urban transportation future.'

In addition to the paper presentations, Ricardo will also be exhibiting at LEVS, Barcelona, 20-21 September, with displays including a scale model of one of the WEpod vehicles.

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