Vehicle-Sharing Operating System Solar Charging Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle-sharing services face a challenge in balancing efficient use of solar power for charging electric vehicles with the need to lend vehicles to users, as these two objectives are mutually contradictory, leading to inefficiencies in operation.
Innovation Solution
An operating system that includes a reservation input unit, a charging plan creating unit, and a cost calculating unit to optimize the charging of electric vehicles using solar or system power, ensuring that the operation cost remains within a predetermined threshold, allowing for efficient use of solar power while accommodating user requests.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the number of electric vehicles stopped at the station for charging during daytime is increased to efficiently use solar power, then solar power utilization is improved, but the number of vehicles available for user service is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by predicting future solar power generation amounts and user reservation patterns in advance. The charging plan creating unit creates optimized charging schedules before the charging actually occurs, taking into account forecasted solar power availability and anticipated user demands, thereby preparing the system to maximize solar power usage while maintaining service availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts charging plans based on real-time conditions. When new user reservations are input, the charging plan creating unit recalculates and creates updated charging plans that balance solar power utilization with vehicle availability. The acceptance condition determination dynamically evaluates whether to accept reservations based on whether the resulting operation cost meets predetermined thresholds, allowing flexible adaptation to changing conditions.
2Loss of energy
If the operation cost threshold is set low to minimize costs, then energy efficiency is improved, but the flexibility to accommodate user reservations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the cost calculating unit continuously calculates operation costs based on charging plans and solar power predictions. The acceptance condition determination unit uses this cost feedback to decide whether to accept new reservations. When a reservation would cause the operation cost to exceed the predetermined threshold, the system provides feedback by rejecting the reservation or adjusting the charging plan, thereby maintaining cost efficiency while preserving flexibility within acceptable boundaries.
3Ease of operation
If charging plans are frequently updated in response to new user reservations, then service responsiveness is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system operates as a self-service automated system where the charging plan creating unit automatically generates and updates charging plans in response to user reservations without requiring manual intervention. The result sending unit automatically communicates acceptance or rejection decisions to users. This automation handles the complexity internally while presenting a simple, responsive interface to users, thereby improving service responsiveness without proportionally increasing operational complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively balances solar power utilization and user vehicle lending, minimizing operation costs and ensuring efficient service provision by creating charging plans that prioritize solar power usage while managing user reservations.
Implementation Method 1
a solar panel 230 that generates electric power using solar energy
Data Source
AI summary
An operating system for a vehicle-sharing service includes: a reservation input unit configured to input a usage reservation of an electric vehicle made by a user; a reservation result sending unit; a charging plan creating unit configured to create a charging plan for the electric vehicle; and a cost calculating unit configured to calculate an operation cost of the vehicle-sharing service based on a prediction of an available solar power supply. The charging plan creating unit creates the charging plan such that the operation cost of the vehicle-sharing service has a minimum cost under a predetermined acceptance condition. The result sending unit sends, to the user, a reservation result indicating that the usage reservation is unacceptable when the operation cost calculated according to the charging plan does not satisfy the predetermined acceptance condition.