Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Networks ─ Optimization and Control

This book explores new approaches towards the optimal switching of PHEVs between the electrical engine and the internal combustion engine (ICE), in order to optimize some utility functions of interest for municipalities (e.g., maintain the level of harmful emissions below some given thresholds in central areas, or close to sensitive points, like hospitals). The text focuses on the interface of cooperative and connected mobility and plug-in vehicles. It introduces new schemes are proposed that can be used to alleviate the inconvenience of the smart grid to charge a possibly massive number of Evs/PHEVS. The book reviews the most interesting control problems becoming prevalent in the EV-PHEV's context and provides innovative and non-conventional solutions that involve stakeholders related with the electric vehicles' business, with the goal of outlining further opportunities to make such vehicles gain favorable momentum.

Emanuele Crisostomi received the Bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering, the Master’s degree in automatic control, and the Ph.D. degree in automatics, robotics, and bioengineering, from the University of Pisa, Italy, in 2002, 2005, and 2009, respectively. He is currently an Assistant Professor of electrical engineering with the Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Constructions Engineering, University of Pisa. His research interests include control and optimisation of large-scale systems, with applications to smart grids and green mobility networks.

Robert Shorten graduated from University College Dublin (UCD) in 1990 with a First Class Honours B.E. degree in Electronic Engineering. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1996, also from UCD, while based at Daimler-Benz Research in Berlin, Germany. From 1993 to 1996, Prof. Shorten was the holder of a Marie Curie Fellowship at Daimler-Benz Research to conduct research in the area of smart gearbox systems. Following a brief spell at the Center for Systems Science, Yale University, working with Professor K. S. Narendra, Prof. Shorten returned to Ireland as the holder of a European Presidency Fellowship in 1997. Prof. Shorten is a co-founder of the Hamilton Institute at NUI Maynooth, where he was a full Professor until March 2013. He was also a Visiting Professor at TU Berlin from 2011-2012. Professor Shorten is currently a senior research manager at IBM Research Ireland. Prof. Shorten’s research spans a number of areas. He has been active in computer networking, automotive research, collaborative mobility (including smart transportation and electric vehicles), as well as basic control theory and linear algebra. His main field of theoretical research has been the study of hybrid dynamical systems.

Fabian Wirth received the Ph.D. degree in mathematics from the Institute of Dynamical Systems, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany, in 1995. He has since held positions in Bremen, at the Centre Automatique et Systemes of Ecole des Mines Fontainebleau, France, and was Visiting Professor at the University of Frankfurt. From 2004 to 2006, he was with the Hamilton Institute at NUI Maynooth, Ireland. He is currently Professor of Dynamical Systems at the Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Passau, Germany. Besides the modeling and analysis of communication networks his current interests include stability theory, switched systems, queueing theory and largescale systems with applications in communications and logistics.