Energy management of electric bicycles given a traveling elevation profile

Abstract

This research proposes a method for energy management inelectric bicycles with Lithium-Ion batteries. This methodoptimizes the way energy is consumed to maximize therider's comfort, subject to constraints on the battery State-of-Charge once destination is reached. The algorithm considersthe elevation profile of the route chosen by the rider,predicting the battery energy consumption based on physicalparameters of the user and the bicycle. The route ispartitioned into equispaced segments, and the optimizationproblem is then formulated to decide when to pedal or whento use the bicycle electric motor. Binary Particle SwarmOptimization (BPSO) is used to solve the optimizationproblem, while particle-filter-based estimators are used todetermine the initial battery State-of-Charge. We surmise thatmanagement of the variability associated with the State-of-Charge swing range, in a systematic manner, will help toincrease the battery life.