On Mon, 18 Feb 2013, Lawrence Winiarski wrote: > I personally think the whole "estimated range" is a recipe for disaster. > Trying to make it idiot-proof isn't going to work. There are too many > variables that can affect range (headwinds, traffic, speed, hills, > temperature). Idiots don't know that an "estimate" is an "estimate". When > you want to make something idiot proof, you need to think about what George > Carlin said: > > > "Think of how stupid the average person is and then realize 50% of them > are even stupider than that." > > So here's a possible answer. Set your range estimation software to the > absolute worst case scenario reasonably possible. So instead of Estimated > range, you say "estimated range" and > "guaranteed range". Now, I personally think that might not be the worst > thing in the world. You exceed your guaranteed range and you are > responsible. Meanwhile > you can use an estimated range for when you want to push the limits, knowing > that you may very well have drive very very conservatively and you are on > your own.
I agree that a single estimated range number is useless. There are two numbers that are important: how far can I go driving exactly as I'm driving now, and how far can I go driving under ideal conditions. The how I'm driving now number will vary wildly as you drive. It will go way down when accelerating hard up a steep hill and go way up coasting down hill. The ideal number will be much more stable. The way to present this information is with a graph or gauge. The how am I doing now needle on the gauge would vary from a low of zero to a high of the ideal needle. The ideal needle would vary from the vehicle's maximum range to zero. Under most driving conditions, the ideal needle would be monotonically decreasing. When stopped, the how I'm driving now needle could change to an average over some period of time. This type of instrumentation would be clear to anybody. In less than five minutes of driving people would begin to develop techniques to keep the now needle as close as possible to the ideal needle. You would also know what is possible. If the ideal needle indicated 25 miles and you needed to go 50 miles you would know you had to recharge before attempting the trip. If the now needle showed 10 miles, but the ideal needle showed 50, then a little adjustment to driving style would make the trip possible without a recharge. As long as the range indicators present only one number they will be almost useless. Present the driver with the information needed to make driving decisions in the clearest possible way without any extraneous information. But don't leave out crucial information. Ed _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
