Matthew Doude, associate director of the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at Mississippi State University, will speak about how autonomous electric vehicles are changing the face of transportation at CWIEME Chicago 2017.

"What will the future look like?" Its a question that people from all walks of life ponder on a regular basis. In the case of transportation, the vision of driverless flying cars fuelled by nothing but clean, renewable energy is one that often springs to mind. But what was once nothing more than a reverie of science fiction fans is closer to reality today than some might think.

Although largely still land-based, research into autonomous electric vehicles has increased exponentially in recent years. It is expected that billions, if not trillions, of dollars will be pumped into autonomous vehicle technology in the next few decades. Its something that everyone in the industry is striving to understand, and with so many predictions flying around, its easy to get carried away.

Matthew Doude, associate director of the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at Mississippi State University, is keen to keep the industrys feet on the ground - and understandably so; making accurate predictions is part of his job.

CAVS is one of the USAs premiere academic automotive research centers. One of its primary functions is to rigorously assess the effectiveness of other companies designs and identify ways to improve efficiency and performance. Doude is involved in strategy and planning for the center, and also manages industry, government and privately funded research programs in both electrified and autonomous vehicles.

"I read recently that by 2030, 95% of the miles travelled in the US will be through transportation-as-a-service," says Doude, who has a degree in mechanical engineering. "This is the sort of ambition that is driving the excitement, which is great; however, I think we need to reign in these sorts of predictions and think about them a little more."

Ridesharing economy

Doude believes that a lot of the current thinking stems from the increasing, but currently unsustainable, success of the ridesharing economy. The ridesharing economy, or transportation-as-a-service economy, refers to the 21st Century proliferation of companies like Uber, whereby using fast and reliable public transport is becoming easier and more cost effective than owning a vehicle.

"Currently, these sorts of companies still largely rely on vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and require people to drive them. That being the case, such services arent particularly cost-effective, reliable or indeed environmentally friendly. However, with advancements in autonomous and electric vehicles happening at such a rapid rate, a popular hypothesis is that it wont be long until such companies can dispense with the drivers and change to an electric fleet (the maintenance and operating costs of which will be significantly lower). Once that happens, it will completely displace the conventional car-ownership model."

Doude anticipates the technology to be readily available by 2030 but that it will take longer for the market to catch up, stating that it will be closer to 2040 before we see significant portions of the market shift to the ridesharing economy.

"Something else thats important to note is that no one really knows yet whether the consumer wants autonomous vehicles. Humans, with their lack of predictability, may feel this constrains their liberty. There are practical aspects, like childrens car seats, and recreational factors, such as peoples enjoyment of driving, that may work against this industry movement. Either way, I dont believe the transport industry is ever going to be 100% autonomous."

Industry movement

Last year there was about a billion dollars invested in autonomous vehicle tech start-ups, a large proportion of which was invested by auto-makers.

"Right now, the major automakers are waiting to see what shakes out of their investments. And when winners start to emerge, theyll be bought up by the corporations," says Doude. Recent examples include General Motors acquiring Cruise and Ford investing in Argo. "Big companies invest strategically; they dont take risks. Interestingly, Uber is investing as much as anyone else is," he adds.

CAVS is currently working with the US Government to test an autonomous military vehicle and is even in the process of building a bespoke vehicle testing facility that will enable the team to test an autonomous vehicles ability to travel both on and off road - a key requirement of a military vehicle.

CWIEME Chicago 2017

Matthew Doude will be speaking at CWIEME Chicago 2017, the leading exhibition for coil winding, transformer and electric motor manufacturing, taking place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center between 3-5 October.

"With the popularity of autonomous vehicles and all the research dollars going into those, everybody wants to know how its going to affect their industry; my goal is to shed some light on this subject," says Doude. "The ‘EV Tech 24hrs seminar focus and the ‘EV Trail are really interesting concepts; its great that CWIEME Chicago is specifically trying to address this very relevant industry topic."

Doudes seminar will take place in the CWIEME Connect Theatre between 15:20 - 16:00 on 4 October.

CWIEME Chicago - North Americas most comprehensive showcase for the coil winding, transformer and electric motor manufacturing industries

Dates and opening times: Tuesday October 3, 2017 - 10am to 5pm
Wednesday October 4, 2017 - 10am to 5pm
Thursday October 5, 2017 - 10am to 3pm

Venue: Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois

Admission: Free until Friday September 29, after which an onsite registration fee of $40 will apply for those who have not already registered online.