Cars of the Future - Part 5

ELECTRONIC HIGHWAYS

In Ford's Minigap system, cars are linked together by invisible electronic beams into highway caravans that follow specially built leader vehicles. Computers inside cars would take over control of brakes, accelerator and steering from motorists

In  Ford’s Automatic Headway Control system, trailing car is equipped with a transmitter (at right) which Projects an invisible beam at car ahead. Taillights of car in front, which does not have to be specially equipped, reflect the beam back to a receiver (right). Computer "reads" signal and adjusts brakes and accelerator automatically for pre-set safe following distance.

The basic highway system as we know it today will still be in existence for the next 10 years because it normally takes 20 to 25 years for major changes to evolve.

 Electronics, already in use in automobiles, will play a bigger role in cars of the future. Engineers have been at work for years on electronic vehicle control systems which can be utilized for automatic high- ways. Extensive application of electronics to cars of the future will probably include communications from the highway to the driver, from the driver to the highway, from driver to driver, route guidance, and information systems which will report road conditions ahead of the vehicle.

Ford Motor Company began proving ground tests nearly three years ago on an automatic headway control system, which is a computerized brake and throttle control unit. In this system, it operates as a conventional speed-control device. But when an automatic headway control (AHC) car approaches another vehicle from the rear, an optical beam is reflected back to an electronic processor that "reads" the signal and changes accelerator and brake settings as needed to maintain a safe following distance. All the driver has to do is steer.

Ford officials pointed out that this sort of control function will be useful in  later, fully automated systems and that meanwhile it could be applied in a shorter-range approach to  relieve drivers of the stop-and-go decision-making required on today's crowded freeways.

Ford engineers have also been working on another concept, called Minigap, a system which links cars on a highway together electronically in convoys to alleviate congestion. In this system, "trains" of cars would be directed by lead vehicles. Although each individual car would supply its own power, drivers would be freed from operating chores altogether. Ford engineers say that Minigap spacing would be maintained by brake and accelerator controls similar to that of AHC. An automatic steering system would also be employed.

Neither of these systems would require changes to existing highways. Moreover, they would permit the mixing in traffic of vehicles with and without -the advanced systems. Engineers believe the systems are potentially capable of increasing both speeds and traffic-handling capacities of existing roads.

[Click on picture for an enlarged version]

Bendix Corporation, a leading supplier to the auto industry, has already developed an Adaptive Speed Control system to' aid the driver by automatically maintaining proper distance behind the vehicle ahead. The driver sets the speed and the system automatically maintains a safe distance behind other cars in the same lane of traffic, reducing speed as required, then resuming the desired speed when traffic conditions ahead permit. Bendix engineers say the system is especially valuable at night because it extends the driver’s sensory abilities, and is unaffected by fog, rain or snow. A radar sensor is used in the Bendix system to measure the headway, or range, and closing velocity of the controlled car to the leading vehicle. A signal processor analyzes this information in relation to the speed of the controlled car and computes them safe interval distance, automatically applying the brakes or throttle as required for a safe interval.

Solid state technology is used throughout the system, which engineers say is fail-safe because it incorporates a self-test feature. A calibrated signal is periodically injected into the system by the signal

"We also expect to see in the future  the appearance of sensors in the automobile's system which will report road conditions ahead of the vehicle so that the adaptive controls will be able to  anticipate sudden driving changes.  "In general, we will see continued  improvements in performance, reliability and driver and passenger comfort as a result of the constant diligence of the automobile builders and of the suppliers like Bendix, despite greatly increased numbers of models and accessories.

"The basic highway system as we know it today will still be in existence for the next I 0 years because it normally takes 20 to 25 years for major changes to evolve. However, sometime in the next 10 to 20 years I am sure we will see a change with the appearance of limited access highways equipped to permit automatically controlled vehicles to use them. I have always believed that the automobile is the ultimate answer to inter-city mass transportation and these automatic warning light immediately alerts the driver of a failure and the system is automatically disconnected. "We at Bendix envision the consolidation of electronics in one central computer, hopefully in a package no larger than a pack of cigarettes," said H. Richard Ford, vice president of marketing, automotive and automation.

"This miniature electronic computer will include the brain boxes for highways which automatically control the cars using them will make this possible. After all, who wouldn't prefer to travel in their personal car at 130 miles an hour when the driving is all automatic and completely safe."

For the past three years, General Motors has been working on an Experimental Route Guidance System (ERGS) for automobiles. This system is designed to give automatic routing instructions at intersections through-out the United States. It is being developed for the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads by the GM Research Laboratories and Delco Radio Division. This concept combines two-way road-to-vehicle communications with roadside computerized logic systems.

General Motors' ERGS system is designed to eliminate problems often confronted in an automobile trip, such as missing a critical turn, and dealing with unfamiliar and poorly marked intersections.

In the ERGS system, when a driver leaves for a trip, he enters a five letter code word for his destination by setting small thumb wheels on a compact console. Here's what happens as he approaches an instrumented inter- section: (1) the vehicular console transmits the destination code to road-side equipment; (2) the roadside equipment processes the code and transmits an appropriate routing instruction back to the vehicle, and (3) the received instruction (such as turn right, turn left, etc.) is displayed on a dashboard message panel. All this occurs in only a few milliseconds!

A similar two-way exchange of information occurs at every instrumented intersection in the road network. Routing instructions are derived from "best route" computer programs stored in the roadside equipment. These programs direct the driver from intersection to intersection until he reaches his destination. Since the system is "destination oriented," a driver who failed to follow a routing instruction would be lost for only a short time. The next instrumented intersection would supply a routing calculation based on the driver's new position in the road network.

Equipment for the vehicle required for ERGS includes a destination encoder, a two-way radio, and display panel. Roadside equipment includes a decoder, a small computer with an appropriate stored program of instructions, buffer storage units, and individual radio links to each traffic lane.

GM officials say ERGS is an initial approach to a widely deployable routing and two-way road-to-vehicle communications system. The basic system contains all the needed capabilities for such desirable additional features as emergency communications, in-car displays of traffic signs, and automatic messages about road conditions. ERGS could supply data on traffic flow to traffic control authorities and transportation planners. Further computerization could lead to a system which would give the driver a best route based on road conditions, time of day, and the current traffic load.

Route guidance would increase safety and reduce trip time, routing errors, and driver stress.