Debunking the Myth of High Consumption: Power Realities in Autonomous Vehicles*

The ongoing shift towards electric vehicles and the simultaneous integration of sensor, computing and communication systems for automated driving pose challenges for the interplay between batteries and onboard autonomous mobility functions and services. Research on autonomous test vehicle (ATV) power consumption does not match the current realities of industry solutions brought to early markets worldwide. Current research predicts high power demands of commercial AVs, reflected in extrapolating data points of underlying hardware data sheets, simulations, or the piloting of ATVs. Although we can relay to significant power demands in ATVs, we identified different realities and higher efficiency in emerging industry vehicles. We show a counteracting reality in how AVs power demand is perceived due to a mismatch between ATVs and early market-ready AVs. To bridge the gap between research and practice we pose a power-demand model and core indicators to be considered in estimating power demands.