Growth of frontline electric vehicles requires smart dispatch

An Innovate UK funded project is exploring how the increasing use of electric vehicles as part of frontline response means a new way of thinking about sharing data to ensure that dispatchers can make smart, informed decisions without worrying about charging or battery life.

Project RESPONSE has been underway since June this year having received six-figure grant funding to carry out a feasibility study to see what is required to make good decisions when dispatching electric vehicles to emergencies.

The change in fuel from diesel or petrol to electric poses a new challenge for emergency services. As a result, this project is looking at how to dynamically transfer data from an electric vehicle to a control room to provide the status of an electric vehicle, including the remaining charge in the battery and the potential range so that it can be allocated appropriately to respond to incidents.

The project is a partnership between not-for-profit research consultancy Cenex and tech firm Flexible Power Systems which specialises in commercial vehicle fleet electrification.

FPS Managing Director Michael Ayres says that the project is trying to understand if sufficient data exists in emergency services that would enable largely automated selection of vehicles to respond to emergencies but with the dispatcher making the ultimate decision.

The project will use statistical modelling techniques to create a digital twin to model how the exchange of data might work and validate assumptions without being in a live environment. He wants to test whether it is possible to dispatch electric vehicles using artificial intelligence as opposed to a manual approach.

Working alongside FPS, the nine month project draws on the experience that Cenex has developed in recent years through its work with NHS England and other blue light fleets where it has been helping develop strategies for the roll out of electric fleets.

“RESPONSE leverages our extensive experience in supporting emergency fleets to develop zero-emission emergency service operations. We’ve held extensive discussions with stakeholders to understand their requirements for, and potential concerns with, future command and control systems.

“We’re also working with selected partners to model how their current diesel vehicles behave, and how these operational patterns can transition to accommodate the charging requirements of future zero emission versions.”

Dr Peter Speers, Project Lead at Cenex.

The project team plans to publish a report on the findings of the feasibility study and whether there is potential to develop a demonstrator with a service as part of a second phase but that will be dependent on further funding.

Read more about how emergency services are thinking about managing electric fleets by reading Rethinking greener blue light fleets in five (possibly) easy steps.