A British company has given fleet managers a way to remotely monitor emissions in a moving vehicle. Instead of measuring gases directly in the exhaust pipe, Lysanda's Eco-Log uses flow modeling to derive emissions levels and composition from signals sent by the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) system. The information is then sent back to a base station in real time over the mobile phone network.
The system's point of departure is an algorithmically generated emissions model shell. OBD inputs are then fed into the system and plotted against against a powertrain attribute map to calculate exhaust content. Data include load, engine speed, throttle angle, and engine temperature; diesel systems also take injector profile, timing, shape, and duration into account.
For a disturbing set of sample data, consider these prototype outputs from a Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi — first, running quietly for 1km on a level road; then, covering the same distance while accelerating rapidly and passing another car. The graphs show g/km of CO2, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.
Alexander Willard, CEO and founder of Lysanda, says the system will enable fleet managers "to monitor how their vehicles are being driven and the exact fuel economy each one achieves in its daily operations, mile by mile, minute by minute."
"It could help them improve emissions efficiency by identifying particularly heavy-footed drivers and particularly inefficient vehicles," he adds. "We have estimated that this could generate savings of at least 5 percent per year.
It will also enable fleet operators to show that emissions levels and composition for specific vehicles comply with London Low Emission Zone restrictions coming in 2008, Willard notes — and, of course, with similar restrictions elsewhere.
Lysanda Launches New Technology to Monitor Vehicle Emissions on the Move [Lysanda via Green Car Congress]
