Karlsruhe Innovative Individual Mobility (K12)

KI2 – Karlsruhe Innovative Individual Mobility
A project of the Institute of Product Engineering at KIT

Interested companies and research institutes can download the KI2 flyer here.

Motivation
The automotive industry has always been a very important branch of industry for Germany as a place for business. Future technologies in the context of electric mobility though will throw up new challenges that the existing know-how can no longer adequately deal with.

The KI2 project
KI2was initiated on account of this background. It involved drawing up potential future scenarios from which profiles for new vehicle concepts were derived. The chosen vehicle concept is characterised by a unique form of modular design. This allows the vehicle to be individually tailored to the needs of the user. Options that can be individually selected include, for example, the choice of power source, which can easily be swapped or extended because of the modular design, the number of persons to be transported and a free choice of luggage space. Unnecessary weight is cleverly avoided by the individually adaptable vehicle structure. The concept does justice to the trend towards individual mobility and is aimed specifically at the economic and ecological demands of the near future.

Project goals of IPEK
By virtue of the development of this innovative vehicle, eight scientific staff are engaged in solving problems associated with the development methodology and drive technology. From modelling of the product creation processes via the knowledge-based development and design through to research of drive technology subsystems, findings are able to be derived from this ongoing project. On top of this, the project serves as a case study in teaching. For example, so far a total of 24 students have been able to acquire valuable key competency for the engineering profession in this team-oriented development process. In IPEK's test bench portfolio, the modular vehicle continues to serve as a mobile technological platform for probing vehicle systems such as drive components, range extenders, power management or power storage systems. In collaboration with other institutes at KIT, the interactions between drive and handling are investigated systematically with regard to the modular concept.

Current status of the project K12KI2

In the chosen realisation the vehicle in its smallest unit will comprise a front module able to accomodate the vehicle driver and optionally one passenger, and a rear-end module that contains an electric drive. The range in this basic configuration is 50 kilometres which can be covered purely on eletrical power. The range can be extended up to 200 kilometres by the range extender in add-on modules. Additional seats, luggage space or power storage can be provided by further modules. After the successful strategic product planning phase, the K12 team is currently at the end of the detailed design phase. A virtual prototype is completed.

Your opportunity as a partner in KI2

  • Use the vehicle as a test bed and development platform for your components and subsystems and benefit from the longstanding know-how at IPEK.
  • Gain valueable experience in the application of new development methods and in the future field of electric and individual mobility.
  • Participate in the latest research on the subject of mobility and extend your skills for the markets of tomorrow.
  • As a partner in the project, present yourself to a broad specialist audience at international conferences and trade fairs.  

Interested? Then get in touch with us: Dipl.-Ing. Sascha Ott