The Old Dog Teaches the New Dog Some Tricks

Software Engineering is Increasing Electric Motor Efficiency

- Michael Coates

EVs have been making great strides forward in their battle to win the hearts and minds of car buyers in the U.S. and around the world. That does not mean they have reached their optimal state. It appears one critical component in an EV — its electric motor — can take a leaf from a company experienced in squeezing more efficiency out of incumbent powertrains. It turns out the new dog can learn some tricks from the old dog.

The trick in question is called DMD (Dynamic Motor Drive) from Tula Technology. Of course, it’s not really a trick — it’s software.

It started with the human heart. Tula Founder, Chairman, and CTO Dr. Adya S. Tripathi was inspired by the human heart — a very efficient pump that was perfected by nature over millions of years. Dr. Tripathi took this concept, added his background in audio advanced signal processing, and started looking at applications with car engines. Like a heart, the concept is to operate where the efficiency is highest and tailor operations to deliver needed power while keeping the engine running at or close to its sweet spot.

Start With Combustion

Tula honed its chops on internal combustion engines with a system called Dynamic Skip Fire (DSF). Working with GM (they license their patented technologies) they won awards while boosting efficiency by 15% in V8s that otherwise would have been replaced by smaller engines that might not be able to deliver the torque needed in some situations. DSF now rolls in more than two million vehicles.

Next, they tweaked DSF for diesel applications (dDSF) and aimed at reducing emissions while maintaining the power those engines are famously used for in heavy-duty applications. In testing, partner Cummins dropped fuel use by 20%, CO2 emissions by 5%, and NOx emissions (the precursor of smog) by 65-75%.