Electric vehicles
strategies for promoting ev adoption
Background
electric vehicles have become an increasingly important topic of discussion in cities all across the world. in the bay area and china, issues of air pollution, transportation, and environmental quality have pushed the agenda of increasing ev adoption to the forefront. by helping to diversify the fuel mix, electric vehicles reduce dependence on petroleum an tap into a source of electricity that is often domestic and relatively inexpensive. as cities seek to clean urban skies, evs will play an important role in reduce tailpipe emissions.
with so many incentives and benefits for electric vehicle promotion, why haven't electric vehicles taken off? what technological, environmental, political, and social issues do electric vehicles face? and how have electric vehicles in china fared compared to the bay area?
"China understands that embracing electric vehicles could help it not only to manage its energy dependency and environmental challenges but also to build a car industry that could leapfrog its global competitors in this emerging sector." - Mckinsey global institute
CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE
USER SURVEYS AND RESEARCH SHOWED THAT THERE WERE MANY PAIN POINTS ASSOCIATED WITH USING ELECTRIC BIKES IN CHINA. BIKE CHARGING, FOR EXAMPLE, IS AN INCONVENIENT AND POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS ACTIVITY IN URBAN SETTINGS.
ELECTRIC BIKES USED IN CHINA OFTEN HAVE LARGE, HEAVY BATTERIES THAT NEED TO BE CHARGED DAILY. BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE LIVE IN MULTI-STORY BUILDINGS, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND A WAY TO CHARGE THE BATTERIES. SOME PEOPLE CARRY THE ENTIRE BATTERY (WHICH CAN BE VERY HEAVY) UP THE MANY FLIGHTS OF STAIRS TO BRING INSIDE THEIR APARTMENT TO CHARGE. BUT OTHERS WILL ACTUALLY THROW A CORD OUT THE WINDOW, DOWN TO STREET LEVEL, AND CHARGE THE BATTERY THAT WAY.
THE TEAM BRAINSTORMED SEVERAL WAYS TO MAKE THE CHARGING EXPERIENCE MORE CONVENIENT, AND OUR CONCLUSION WAS THAT A CENTRAL CHARGING STATION WOULD BE THE MOST CONVENIENT METHOD OF CHARGING BATTERIES. WE BUILT LEGO MODELS TO SEE HOW SUCH A SYSTEM WOULD WORK AND LOOK IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
ELECTRIC BIKES USED IN CHINA OFTEN HAVE LARGE, HEAVY BATTERIES THAT NEED TO BE CHARGED DAILY. BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE LIVE IN MULTI-STORY BUILDINGS, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND A WAY TO CHARGE THE BATTERIES. SOME PEOPLE CARRY THE ENTIRE BATTERY (WHICH CAN BE VERY HEAVY) UP THE MANY FLIGHTS OF STAIRS TO BRING INSIDE THEIR APARTMENT TO CHARGE. BUT OTHERS WILL ACTUALLY THROW A CORD OUT THE WINDOW, DOWN TO STREET LEVEL, AND CHARGE THE BATTERY THAT WAY.
THE TEAM BRAINSTORMED SEVERAL WAYS TO MAKE THE CHARGING EXPERIENCE MORE CONVENIENT, AND OUR CONCLUSION WAS THAT A CENTRAL CHARGING STATION WOULD BE THE MOST CONVENIENT METHOD OF CHARGING BATTERIES. WE BUILT LEGO MODELS TO SEE HOW SUCH A SYSTEM WOULD WORK AND LOOK IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
"IN CHINA, THERE ARE MORE ELECTRIC BIKES THAN CARS ON THE ROAD"
- INSG INSIGHT
- INSG INSIGHT
REIMAGINING DESIGN OF ELECTRIC BIKES
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES SURROUNDING ELECTRIC BIKES IS THAT THEY ARE OPTIMIZED IN THEIR DESIGN FOR ONE PURPOSE: TRANSPORTATION. HOWEVER, AN ELECTRIC BIKE SPENDS A MAJORITY OF ITS TIME IDLE AND IN CHARGING. LIMITED BY THEIR DESIGN. THE TSINGHUA TEAM REIMAGINED THE DESIGN OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO MAKE IT MORE CONVENIENT TO CHARGE, RIDE, AND CARRY THINGS IN.
USING 3D PRINTING AND MODELING, THE TEAM IN CHINA DESIGNED A BIKE THAT HAD 3 MODES:
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES SURROUNDING ELECTRIC BIKES IS THAT THEY ARE OPTIMIZED IN THEIR DESIGN FOR ONE PURPOSE: TRANSPORTATION. HOWEVER, AN ELECTRIC BIKE SPENDS A MAJORITY OF ITS TIME IDLE AND IN CHARGING. LIMITED BY THEIR DESIGN. THE TSINGHUA TEAM REIMAGINED THE DESIGN OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO MAKE IT MORE CONVENIENT TO CHARGE, RIDE, AND CARRY THINGS IN.
USING 3D PRINTING AND MODELING, THE TEAM IN CHINA DESIGNED A BIKE THAT HAD 3 MODES:
- RIDE MODE
- CHARGING MODE
- STORAGE MODE
QUANTIFYING THE BENEFITS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
IN INITIAL USER TESTING, ONE OF THE KEY RESULTS THAT EMERGED IS THAT PEOPLE ARE LARGELY UNABLE TO QUANTIFY THE FULL COST OF TRANSPORTATION FOR DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION MODES - WALKING, BIKING, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, OR PRIVATE TRANSPORT. THIS MAKES QUANTIFYING THE BENEFIT OF DRIVING ELECTRIC VEHICLES OVER GASOLINE VEHICLES HARD TO COMPARE. OUR TEAM DEVELOPED A PROTOTYPE APP THAT WOULD ALLOW USERS TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE FULL COST OF TAKING DIFFERENT MODES OF TRANSPORTATION.
TRAVELIQ ALLOWS USERS TO INPUT A STARTING POINT AND ENDPOINT DESTINATION AND COMPARE THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS.
IN INITIAL USER TESTING, ONE OF THE KEY RESULTS THAT EMERGED IS THAT PEOPLE ARE LARGELY UNABLE TO QUANTIFY THE FULL COST OF TRANSPORTATION FOR DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION MODES - WALKING, BIKING, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, OR PRIVATE TRANSPORT. THIS MAKES QUANTIFYING THE BENEFIT OF DRIVING ELECTRIC VEHICLES OVER GASOLINE VEHICLES HARD TO COMPARE. OUR TEAM DEVELOPED A PROTOTYPE APP THAT WOULD ALLOW USERS TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE FULL COST OF TAKING DIFFERENT MODES OF TRANSPORTATION.
TRAVELIQ ALLOWS USERS TO INPUT A STARTING POINT AND ENDPOINT DESTINATION AND COMPARE THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS.
Presentation
final report
| Final Report |
project team
|
TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY
YueRan Wang Fei Yang Yipei Shen ChangHua Wu |
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Gary Yuan Mao Darren Handoko |