Estimating Fuel Consumption Using Instantaneous and Average Speed in On-ramp Scenarios

Estimating fuel consumption is an important aspect of promoting smart mobility. Fuel consumption can be estimated based on energy demand models. Instantaneous energy demand model requires data about car speed at each second. This provides an accurate estimate of the instantaneous fuel consumption. On the other hand, energy demand can be estimated using the average speed for the whole trip. This approach is less accurate than the instantaneous approach, but it is faster and more convenient to use. In support of smart mobility, this paper takes a close look at the difference noticed while estimating the energy demand using instantaneous and average speeds in on-ramp scenarios. Our theoretical results show that the acceleration rate is an important factor that affects the accuracy of the average energy demand model. This was empirically confirmed by looking at a number of recent car models. The empirical results closely match and support our theoretical findings.