Ricardo, the British engineering company has revealed an intelligent air-conditioning system that could augment fuel cutback by more than 10 per cent in real-world driving situations. Adding, the Sentience project is an automotive technology research project under the control of Ricardo.

In combination with a hybrid or stop-start power train, the system, called Enhanced Air Conditioning (EAC), operates. And it makes certain that at the time when the drive power is solely electric or when the stop-start arrangement slashes the engine, the air-con compressor will not work.

Moreover, the system is allied to a sophisticated mapping and mobile communication system In the Ford Escape Hybrid which is a Sentience project tested automobile. Also it manages the speed and path of the car. Hence the EAC system can envisage potential stopping points and can decide on when the air-con may require to be switched off. And it assists in decreasing the fuel consumption furthermore.

Ricardo, Jaguar Land Rover, the Transport Research Laboratory, Ordnance Survey and Orange business Services are associated with the Sentience project.