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The fear of being stranded by a depleted electric vehicle (EV) battery is commonly referred to as ‘range anxiety’. This study explores a future vision for a comprehensive driver alerting algorithm to reduce the range anxiety by increasing the accuracy of the EV range estimation method. The key piece of information required to achieve this is an accurate battery state of charge (SoC) estimation. This study proposes an improved SoC estimation algorithm for implementation using low‐cost microcontrollers. A method by which this improved algorithm can be implemented in a distributed battery management system is presented. The improved SoC estimation can be used to provide an enhanced range estimation method that can take into consideration a variety of environmental and behavioural factors. The proposed range estimate is more accurate than when only SoC is considered and can be implemented as part of a comprehensive driver alerting system to alert the EV driver of the expected energy required to reach the destination, the expected range with current SoC, an advisory if charging will be required prior to reaching the destination and the suggested duration of the charging required. By reducing the uncertainty surrounding EV range, it is hoped that the uptake of EVs can be improved.
Tannahill et al. (2014) studied this question.