The Smer Lumeneo; a new type of urban electrical vehicle

From a concept close to the BMW C1, Lumeneo offers a vehicle that behaves like a two-wheelers, but has an aluminum chassis, body and closed 4 wheels.

Submitted the first to the last Geneva motor show, the Smer of Lumeneo was presented at the Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris in 2008 in its prefiguring of the model series.

Trimmed new colors: red berry, mineral silver, deep black, pearl, blue tanzanite, the Smer is ready to slip into traffic and peri-urban.

Originally designed to move with ease, the Smer has dimensions especially suitable for urban traffic: 80 cm wide and 2.40 m in length. It slip a two-wheeler, but the driver and passenger are comfortably protected, safe from weather and traffic. Indeed, unlike a two-wheeled, the Smer has an aluminum chassis and body closed. In addition, safety belts and crash box complement the passive safety.

Fully electric, the Smer is under European approval and will be marketed in France from January 2009.

With a high-end positioning, the Smer is proposed between 20 and 25,000 euros, depending on options, including government aid. At this price, almost the price of a Toyota Prius, the Smer will probably find it difficult to penetrate the market for electric vehicles.

The Smer has exclusive dimensions. Its very fluid lines are accentuated by its automated tilt on curves. Access to board is facilitated by two large side doors, thus returning the left or right, depending on where we train station. Five colors are available, but the choice of a particular color is always possible.

A board is maximum visibility with a large glazed surface that offers a panoramic view of traffic. The driver is comfortably installed in the front seat to let its passenger back. The interior is offered as an option entirely leather-wrapped end. The scoreboard includes an LCD screen and meets all intuitive.

The Smer has a safe welcoming easily baggage of everyday life (attache case, shopping bags ...).

One of the Smer his inclination is driven automatically to follow the curves with a new sensation. The driver does nothing. His grip intuitive offers real driving pleasure. At the heart of the Smer, an electronic system is responsible for driving all the parameters of the vehicle from the signals provided by an inertial integrated. Following the dynamic parameters of the car, the curve of turn, the driving style and road conditions, it instantly determine the optimal angle. It is a servo driven by the computer which automatically performs this function by tilting the cab and four wheels.

Electrical design, the Smer is particularly environmentally friendly. Its operation generates no pollution, no greenhouse gases, no smoke. It is totally silent. Its maintenance is minimal because electric motors have the particularity to have a very long service life and recycling is simple.

The Smer is equipped with two electric motors brushless permanent magnet for propulsion, specially created for her. These engines offer a couple of 1 000 Nm at the wheels at the start unlike heat engines, whose maximum torque is available.

Each engine weighs less than 25 kg and consists of 98% for primary metals, aluminum, copper and iron. Recycling is simple. It also avoids any waste of a car engine: oils, including catalytic precious metals that are difficult to recycle.

The engines were developed specifically to meet the needs of the Smer and optimize their weight and power. At each stop, they turn into alternator and back of energy in batteries, increasing the autonomy of the Smer.

The brushless propulsion engines offer the main advantage of having no room in friction which does not have maintenance and have a good life, nearly 200 000 km.

The source of energy Smer is a set of batteries with a voltage of 144 V and a capacity of 10 kWh. Lithium Technology, this latest generation to meet all the needs of Smer.

Thanks to its charger and integrated cable, Smer can be recharged via any household electrical outlet (230 V, 16 A) in a garage or free parking terminals. We just have to acquire a new reflex: connect and disconnect the evening to the morning each day count on maximum autonomy of 150 km. For this, the Smer itself to recharge at a cost of 0.7 euro/100Km (EDF standard tariff peak).

This represents a saving of € 6 000 to 100 000 km compared to a heat engine (average of 5 liters per 100km)

Lithium batteries of the Smer are designed to operate at least 10 years, even daily use.

Between the engine and wheels, a transmission belt was installed. Electric motors provide maximum torque at startup and deliver their power so there is no need for couples to a gearbox.

The Smer has two engine controllers and a main computer. They work continuously and the main computer supervises controller at all times via the CAN bus, verifying that the results of their calculations are consistent. In case of discrepancy, the main computer acts as an arbitrator, by adjusting set points to the controller concerned. This architecture already experienced in aeronautics, provides a great system reliability. Orders of the central computer, the electronic differential manages every millisecond regimes and couples propulsion engines to enable the Smer to operate easily.