Development of a hybrid human-electric propulsion system for a velomobile

Electric vehicles are particularly suited to urban mobility because in towns pollution problem are very important and because the demanded range is not very large. Cycling is a healthy activity, an efficient means of transportation and it is increasingly included in transportation policies in nations around the world. Therefore, after the recent diffusion of electric bicycles, the development of new kind of human-electric vehicles in the next years is expected. Hybrid velomobiles are very promising because they can retain some good characteristics of cars (protection from bad weather and stability) and of bicycles (small frontal section, good handling). This paper presents the development of a tilting velomobile equipped with a parallel hybrid propulsion system. Details about the mechanical layout, which gives good stability properties, and about the advanced reluctance motors are presented.