On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:35:25 -0500, Jim Logajan
wrote in :
wrote:
Automatic cars don't exist and there is little likelyhood the will
exist anytime in the near future.
Um, you may want to start doing a bit of catch-up reading before making any
further categorical statements like the above since you appear to be making
claims outside your realm of knowledge or expertise. It appears you are
probably unaware of current development in this area. Autonomous vehicles
are probably in the near future; this is what DARPA's Grand Challenge was
intended to accomplish:
http://www.darpa.mil/GRANDCHALLENGE/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darpa_grand_challenge
Here's a concept that should be pursued:
http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/pr97-12/p32.htm
Actual Hands-off Steering:
And Other Wonders of the Modern World
by Bob Bryant
This article discusses the demonstration of automated
highway system technologies by the National Automated Highway
System Consortium, in which the federal Highway Administration is
a partner; in San Diego, Calif., on Aug 7 to 10, 1997. See "Demo
'97: Proving AHS Works" of the July/August 1997 issue of Public
Roads for a general description of the demonstration, its
background, the demonstration scenarios, and the consortium
Eight car platoon demonstrates vehicles traveling as a unit.
In the platoon scenario, eight cars in a tight formation -
6.5 meters apart - at nearly 105 km/h traveled the demo
course as coordinated unit with the vehicles "communicating"
with each other 50 times per second.
(Photo courtesy of California PATH)
Demo '97
It's magic! Or so it seems -- cars driving themselves.
Well, we know, it's not magic. It's very technical and
explainable -- the logical culmination of years of study,
development, and testing. But that doesn't detract from the wonder
of it all.
It's like the tricks of the master magicians and
illusionists; you know that there is a logical explanation for all
the apparently supernatural feats, but it is still exciting.
You know the magician did not really saw the woman in half,
and the Statue of Liberty did not really disappear. But we're
still amazed. Even if it's not magic, the cars did drive
themselves -- at least without the help of human drivers.
I know that is true hecause I saw them. I even rode in three
of the automated vehicles at Demo '97, the demonstration of
automated high-way system (AHS) technologies in San Diego on Aug.
7 to 10, 1997. I rode in a car, a minivan, and a bus, and it was
exhilarating to barrel down that 12.2-km segment of the Interstate
15 high-occupancy-vehicle lanes at 105 km/h with the drivers' feet
tucked under their seats and their hands in their laps -- truly
"hands-off, feet-off" driving. Even though it is a very overused
cliche, I couldn't help thinking, "Look Ma, no hands -- or feet!"
Demo '97, -- put on by the National Automated Highway System
Consortium (NAHSC), an industry-government-academia collaboration
-- was a congressionally mandated demonstration to prove that it
is technically "feasible" to use these AHS technologies to
significantly alleviate several of the most enduring
transportation problems in the United States -- and in the rest of
the world as well.
AHS addresses three major concerns, explained Bill Stevens,
the NAHSC Program technical director. One is safety; second is
congestion; and the third is environmental problems.
Each year in the United States, more than 40,000 people are
killed and 5 million people are injured in automobile crashes.
Because human error is a leading factor in nine out of 10 crashes
and because AHS promises to significantly reduce the element of
human error, AHS offers a great potential for saving lives and
avoiding injuries.
AHS can reduce congestion and increase mobility in several
ways, but primarily, by being able to safely reduce the distance
between vehicles, AHS "can double or triple the capacity of our
roadways at today's legal speeds and make trips faster and trip
times more reliable by avoiding the backups due to stop-and-go
traffic and congestion," said Jim Rillings, former NAHSC program
manager. Congestion is another leading factor in automobile
crashes; so, reducing congestion will also have safety advantages.
Vehicles traveling in a tight, automated platoon with about
half a vehicle-length interval have a dramatic reduction in
aerodynamic drag that results in a 20-percent to 25-percent
improvement in fuel economy and emissions reduction. AHS will also
have great economic advantages. Today's vehicles are about as
crash-worthy as it is possible to make them within reasonable
cost. Therefore, the automobile companies, as well as the federal
government, are now turning to crash avoidance as a way of
avoiding injuries and death and also as way of saving economic
losses due to crashes, which amount to approximately $150 billion
per year. The economic losses due to highway congestion are in the
neighborhood of $50 billion per year. Adding those up, a sizable
amount of money is lost each year due to motor vehicle crashes and
congestion," Rillings said.
Different approaches to AHS were showcased in seven
different "scenarios" during the demo. Cutting-edge technologies
to provide adaptive cruise control, collision warning, obstacle
avoidance, lane departure warning, and lateral and longitudinal
control (steering and interval) were used to show variations on an
AHS of the future.
The 1,350 passengers who rode in the Demo '97 vehicles were
the first people to experience s...
It appears that it is being pursued by come capable folks:
http://www.path.berkeley.edu/PATH/Publications/Videos/