Vehicles

21 pages, 2609 KB

Open AccessArticle

An Adaptive Full-Order Sliding-Mode Observer Based-Sensorless Control for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Propulsion Motors Drives

by Shengqi Huang, Yuqing Huang, Le Wang, Lei Shi and Junwu Zhang

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020034 (registering DOI) - 7 Feb 2026

Abstract

In electric vehicle and marine propulsion applications, the stable operation of permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive systems relies on accurate rotor position information. Such information is typically obtained from position sensors, which are prone to high temperature, humidity, vibration, and electromagnetic interference, leading [...] Read more.

In electric vehicle and marine propulsion applications, the stable operation of permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive systems relies on accurate rotor position information. Such information is typically obtained from position sensors, which are prone to high temperature, humidity, vibration, and electromagnetic interference, leading to elevated failure rates; moreover, sensor installation introduces additional interfaces and wiring, thereby reducing system reliability. To address these issues, this paper proposes a sensorless control method based on an adaptive full-order sliding-mode observer (SMO). The proposed method employs the SMO output as the observer feedback correction term rather than the estimated back EMF, thereby avoiding substantial high-frequency noise. Furthermore, an S-shaped nonlinear function is designed to replace the conventional switching function, mitigating high-frequency chattering when the system operates in sliding mode; an adaptive sliding-mode gain function is designed, the sliding-mode gain and the boundary-layer thickness are adaptively tuned as a function of motor speed, which effectively enhances the back EMF estimation accuracy over a wide operating-speed range. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated on a 2.3-kW PMSM experimental platform. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Next-Generation Power Electronics and Charging Technologies for Electric Vehicles)

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26 pages, 1782 KB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated User-Centered E-Scooter Design Framework for Enhancing User Satisfaction, Performance, and Terrain Adaptation in Budapest City

by Basheer Wasef Shaheen and Ahmed Jaber

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020033 - 6 Feb 2026

Abstract

Electric scooters and other micromobility innovations are becoming standard fare in urban transportation networks. Yet there are several obstacles that must be overcome, including concerns about users’ satisfaction and safety. This study aimed primarily at developing a user-centered methodological framework that combined different [...] Read more.

Electric scooters and other micromobility innovations are becoming standard fare in urban transportation networks. Yet there are several obstacles that must be overcome, including concerns about users’ satisfaction and safety. This study aimed primarily at developing a user-centered methodological framework that combined different user-centered engineering tools such as voice of customers analysis, needs–metrics mapping, Pugh’s matrix and morphological design, strategic analysis approaches such as SWOT and PESTEL, and, a key innovation, the smart terrain-adaptive power management system (STAPMS), an AI-based feature that dynamically adjusts power output and regenerative braking based on Budapest’s varied topography and road conditions to improve energy efficiency and ride comfort. This innovative framework offers insights into redesign options aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction, product quality, and business growth. The proposed framework was validated on Lime electric scooters, particularly the S2 generation type. Three design concepts were generated and evaluated through a systematic approach to provide an optimal balance between users’ needs, technical performance, and strategic feasibility. The proposed user-centered framework shows significant potential to improve users’ satisfaction, enhanced usability, extended range, and increased market competitiveness, validating its viability for micromobility innovative solutions. The findings also demonstrate the necessity for systematic frameworks that link user experience with engineering design and can be generalized to other micromobility products. Full article

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30 pages, 1888 KB

Open AccessReview

Driving Simulator-Based Driving Behavioural Research: A Bibliometric and Narrative Review Providing Key Insights for New and Emerging Researchers

by Muhammad Hussain, Muladilijiang Baikejuli, Jing Shi, Amjad Pervez, Matthew A. Albrecht, Etikaf Hussain, Razi Hasan and Teresa Senserrick

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020032 - 6 Feb 2026

Abstract

The driving simulator’s ability to provide practical, safe, and controlled environments has made it a widely used tool for evaluating driving behaviours in the realm of road safety. To consolidate the fragmented research in this area, this study is divided into two parts: [...] Read more.

The driving simulator’s ability to provide practical, safe, and controlled environments has made it a widely used tool for evaluating driving behaviours in the realm of road safety. To consolidate the fragmented research in this area, this study is divided into two parts: a bibliometric analysis and a narrative review: (a) the bibliometric analysis identified 4992 studies, expanding from 2000 to June 2025, sourced from four databases—Web of Science, Scopus, TRID, and Google Scholar (supplementary)—and examined trends over the years, the general topics covered, the countries where studies were conducted, and the main research fields associated with driving simulators; and (b) the narrative review further analysed 48 selected studies from eight domains (distraction, fatigue and drowsiness, traffic-calming measures, impairment from psychoactive drugs, road curves, intersections, tunnels, and adverse weather conditions) to provide insights into how driving simulators have contributed to these fields, the methodologies employed by researchers, and the practical applications of the findings. The study aims to provide clear and essential insights for new and emerging researchers, offering an accessible overview of how driving simulators have evolved, why they are important, how they measure different driving metrics, and how they ultimately improve road safety. The findings indicate that driving simulator studies are increasingly prominent in research on driver behaviour (e.g., driving speed, lateral movement, and acceleration/deceleration). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Road Safety, Aberrant Driver Behaviour and Sustainable Transportation Planning)

17 pages, 1285 KB

Open AccessArticle

Joint Optimization of Dynamic Pricing and Flexible Refund Fees for Railway Services

by Wuyang Yuan, Zhen Ren, Zhongrui Zhou and Yu Ke

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020031 - 6 Feb 2026

Viewed by 47

Abstract

This study explores strategies for dynamic pricing and flexible refund fee setting in railway line services, aiming to optimize ticket sales revenue by integrating refund mechanisms into the revenue management framework. By introducing a consistent concept of opportunity cost applicable to both passengers [...] Read more.

This study explores strategies for dynamic pricing and flexible refund fee setting in railway line services, aiming to optimize ticket sales revenue by integrating refund mechanisms into the revenue management framework. By introducing a consistent concept of opportunity cost applicable to both passengers and railway operators, we propose an integrated approach that combines dynamic pricing with flexible refund fees grounded in the demand-driven opportunity cost of seat resources. A dynamic programming model is constructed to quantify the opportunity cost of seat resources. To address the computational challenges arising from the model’s scale, state and time dimension compression methods are applied to develop an approximate linear programming model with fewer constraints. The proposed model is solved using a turning point search algorithm and a constraint generation algorithm. Numerical experiments and ticket sales simulations are conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed methods and to explore the application effects of different pricing strategy combinations. The results demonstrate that the integration of dynamic pricing and flexible refund fees can significantly enhance ticket sales revenue, particularly in scenarios of supply shortfall. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Models and Algorithms for Railway Line Planning Problems)

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19 pages, 1518 KB

Open AccessArticle

Electric Vehicles to Support Grid Needs: Evidence from a Medium-Sized City

by Antonio Comi, Eskindir Ayele Atumo and Elsiddig Elnour

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020030 - 4 Feb 2026

Viewed by 110

Abstract

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services are gaining attention as a strategy to integrate electric vehicles (EVs) into sustainable energy systems. Although technological aspects have been widely studied, methodologies for identifying optimal V2G hubs and forecasting the energy available for grid transfer remain limited. This study [...] Read more.

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services are gaining attention as a strategy to integrate electric vehicles (EVs) into sustainable energy systems. Although technological aspects have been widely studied, methodologies for identifying optimal V2G hubs and forecasting the energy available for grid transfer remain limited. This study introduces a data-driven approach to (i) identify the optimal V2G region based on the aggregated parking duration using floating car data (FCD; collected from GPS-enabled vehicles); (ii) estimate the surplus battery capacity of electric vehicles in that region; and (iii) forecast the energy transferable to the grid. The methodology applies spatial k-means clustering to define candidate zones, computes aggregated parking durations, and selects the optimal hub. The surplus energy is estimated considering the daily mobility needs of users, 20% reserve, and transfer rates. For forecasting, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and long short-term memory (LSTM) models are implemented and compared. The proposed methodology has been applied to a real case study, using 58 days of FCD observations. The empirical findings of this study show the goodness of the proposed methodology, and the opportunity offered V2G technology to support the sustainable use of energy. The ARIMA model demonstrated a superior forecasting performance with an RMSE of 52.424, MAE of 36.05, and MAPE of 12.98%, outperforming LSTM (RMSE of 99.09, MAE of 80.351, and MAPE of 53.20%) under the current data conditions. The results of this study suggest that for supporting grid needs of a medium-sized city, V2G plays a key role, and at the current status of the EV penetration, the use of FCD and predictive approaches is paramount for making an informed decision. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Solutions and Technologies for Smart Mobility and Vehicle Safety in Transportation)

18 pages, 2469 KB

Open AccessArticle

Fires in Urban Passenger Transport Vehicles Engine—Case Study

by Hugo Raposo, Jorge Raposo, José Torres Farinha and J. Edmundo de-Almeida-e-Pais

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020029 - 2 Feb 2026

Viewed by 292

Abstract

Passenger transport companies have often been affected by fires in their vehicles, causing considerable damage. As a result, it is important to study the causes and effects of these fires, as well as to define the maintenance policies and strategies to be implemented [...] Read more.

Passenger transport companies have often been affected by fires in their vehicles, causing considerable damage. As a result, it is important to study the causes and effects of these fires, as well as to define the maintenance policies and strategies to be implemented to minimize the probability of this type of accident occurring. The support for this paper was based on the study of an accident that occurred in Portugal involving a passenger bus that suffered a fire in the engine compartment, which spread to the passenger compartment and caused the destruction of the vehicle, with no personal injuries. This study used infrared image analysis technology, oil ignition temperature analysis, maintenance history, accident history and operator interviews to determine the possible cause of the ignition. It was found that the cause was due to oil leaks from the engine compartment cooling system. The present communication will share a set of explanatory elements of the circumstances in which the accident occurred. In addition to identifying the causes of the accident, the study warns of the importance of more effective and efficient maintenance, particularly when using Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), including periodic visual inspections of the various mechanical and electrical components that make up the vehicles. The conclusions presented in the study also show that these events are not unrelated to the poor or even non-existent maintenance policy for the entire fleet, including the applicable standards. Full article

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19 pages, 5725 KB

Open AccessArticle

Real-Time 3D Scene Understanding for Road Safety: Depth Estimation and Object Detection for Autonomous Vehicle Awareness

by Marcel Simeonov, Andrei Kurdiumov and Milan Dado

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020028 - 2 Feb 2026

Viewed by 209

Abstract

Accurate depth perception is vital for autonomous driving and roadside monitoring. Traditional stereo vision methods are cost-effective but often fail under challenging conditions such as low texture, reflections, or complex lighting. This work presents a perception pipeline built around FoundationStereo, a Transformer-based stereo [...] Read more.

Accurate depth perception is vital for autonomous driving and roadside monitoring. Traditional stereo vision methods are cost-effective but often fail under challenging conditions such as low texture, reflections, or complex lighting. This work presents a perception pipeline built around FoundationStereo, a Transformer-based stereo depth estimation model. At low resolutions, FoundationStereo achieves real-time performance (up to 26 FPS) on embedded platforms like NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin with TensorRT acceleration and power-of-two input sizes, enabling deployment in roadside cameras and in-vehicle systems. For Full HD stereo pairs, the same model delivers dense and precise environmental scans, complementing LiDAR while maintaining a high level of accuracy. YOLO11 object detection and segmentation is deployed in parallel for object extraction. Detected objects are removed from depth maps generated by FoundationStereo prior to point cloud generation, producing cleaner 3D reconstructions of the environment. This approach demonstrates that advanced stereo networks can operate efficiently on embedded hardware. Rather than replacing LiDAR or radar, it complements existing sensors by providing dense depth maps in situations where other sensors may be limited. By improving depth completeness, robustness, and enabling filtered point clouds, the proposed system supports safer navigation, collision avoidance, and scalable roadside infrastructure scanning for autonomous mobility. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Solutions and Technologies for Smart Mobility and Vehicle Safety in Transportation)

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20 pages, 3498 KB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Optimization of a Non-Contact Current Sensor for EVs Based on a Hybrid Semi-Circular Array of Hall-Effect and TMR Elements

by Xiaopeng Yuan, Haoyu Wang and Lei Zhang

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020027 - 1 Feb 2026

Viewed by 188

Abstract

This paper presents a semi-circular, non-contact current sensor designed to simplify the layout of automotive wiring harnesses and enhance measurement convenience and reliability. The sensor integrates a hybrid sensing array consisting of Hall-effect and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) elements. To address common challenges in [...] Read more.

This paper presents a semi-circular, non-contact current sensor designed to simplify the layout of automotive wiring harnesses and enhance measurement convenience and reliability. The sensor integrates a hybrid sensing array consisting of Hall-effect and tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) elements. To address common challenges in automotive power systems and vehicle wiring—such as conductor eccentricity and magnetic interference from adjacent cables—two key techniques are proposed. First, an eccentricity error compensation algorithm is developed, achieving a measurement accuracy of 97.07% under specific misalignment conditions. Second, an equivalent modeling method based on eccentricity principles is introduced to characterize interference fields in complex wiring environments, maintaining 94.31% accuracy in the presence of external disturbances. When the conductor is centered within the array, the average measurement accuracy reaches 99.05%. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed sensor can reliably measure large currents from 0 to 210 A, making it highly suitable for applications in electric vehicles, high-voltage harness monitoring, power electronics, and intelligent transportation systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Vehicle Infrastructure Cooperative System (IVICS))

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32 pages, 6959 KB

Open AccessArticle

Handling Stability Control for Multi-Axle Distributed Drive Vehicles Based on Model Predictive Control

by Hongjie Cheng, Zhenwei Hou, Zhihao Liu, Jianhua Li, Jiashuo Zhang, Yuan Zhao and Xiuyu Liu

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020026 - 1 Feb 2026

Viewed by 131

Abstract

Multi-axle vehicles are commonly used for heavy-duty special operations, which easily leads to high driving torque demands when adopting distributed electric drive configurations. This study achieves the objective of reducing the driving torque of each in-wheel motor while controlling the stability of multi-axle [...] Read more.

Multi-axle vehicles are commonly used for heavy-duty special operations, which easily leads to high driving torque demands when adopting distributed electric drive configurations. This study achieves the objective of reducing the driving torque of each in-wheel motor while controlling the stability of multi-axle vehicles. Taking a five-axle distributed drive test vehicle as the research object, a hierarchical control strategy integrating active all-wheel steering and direct yaw moment control is proposed. The upper layer is implemented based on model predictive control, with fuzzy control introduced to dynamically adjust control weights; the lower layer accomplishes the allocation of targets calculated by the upper layer through minimizing the objective function of tire load ratio. A linear parameter varying (LPV) tire model is introduced into the vehicle model to improve the calculation accuracy of tire lateral forces, and a neural network method is employed to solve the real-time performance issue of the model predictive control (MPC) controller. The proposed strategy is verified through a combination of simulation and real vehicle tests. High-speed condition simulations demonstrate that the AWS/DYC strategy significantly outperforms the ARS/DYC approach: compared to the active rear-wheel steering strategy, while the sideslip angle is reduced by 90.98%, the peak driving torque is reduced by 30.78%. Notably, tire slip angle analysis reveals that AWS/DYC maintains relatively uniform slip angle distribution across axles with a maximum of 4.7°, entirely within the linear working region, optimally balancing tire performance utilization with lateral stability while preserving safety margin, whereas ARS/DYC causes slip angles to exceed 11.9° at the rear axle, entering saturation. Low-speed real vehicle tests further confirm the engineering applicability of the strategy. The proposed method is of significant importance for the application of distributed drive configurations in the field of special vehicles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Dynamics, Control and Simulation of Electric Vehicles)

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21 pages, 4512 KB

Open AccessArticle

Interpretability Evaluation Method for Driving Stability on Curved Road Sections with Trajectory Uncertainty

by Xiaoyang Li, Tao Chen, Lebin Zhao, Yang Luo, Pengfei Zhang and Meng Wang

Vehicles 2026, 8(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles8020025 - 1 Feb 2026

Viewed by 100

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to enrich the safety evaluation system of vehicles on complex road sections and provide quantitative support for speed control and driving decision-making. To address the driving stability issue caused by trajectory uncertainty on curved roads, we analyzed [...] Read more.

This study was conducted in order to enrich the safety evaluation system of vehicles on complex road sections and provide quantitative support for speed control and driving decision-making. To address the driving stability issue caused by trajectory uncertainty on curved roads, we analyzed lane-changing stability and found that trajectory variations induce a step change in centrifugal force, aggravating lateral instability. Secondly, we developed a variety of simulation schemes to determine the stability limit speed under multi-source information fusion and constructed the corresponding database. Finally, we established an interpretable driving stability evaluation method based on the Differential Evolution-Extended Belief Rule Base-Shapley Additive Explanations (DB-EBRB-SHAP) model. This model incorporates driving behavior as a qualitative variable into the hybrid framework, and its accuracy was further enhanced through parameter optimization. The results demonstrate that the model achieves high evaluation accuracy for driving stability on curved road sections (MAE = 0.0306 and RMSE = 0.0363). Interpretability analysis reveals that curve radius and lane-changing behavior are the key influencing parameters; the negative interaction effect between the two on driving stability will weaken as the curve radius increases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Vehicle Infrastructure Cooperative System (IVICS))

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Vehicles, Volume 8, Issue 2 (February 2026) – 10 articles

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