The Road Train Autopilot System for Drivers
Filed Under: green automotive technology, Green Technology, Humor on November 13, 2009
This is a pretty cool idea and it’s been commissioned for trial testing in the European Union. You might remember when I talked about how to drive like a trucker and I mentioned that getting in line and holding a steady speed is a great way to improve your freeway mileage. Well, the Road Train idea is utilizing that and more.
The research team organization is calling itself Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) and will be doing a 3-year trial in the EU.
The idea is pretty simple: a convoy of vehicles is created through wireless connections. The lead vehicle controls speed and direction while the following vehicles “latch on” and mimic the front-runner. Then only the lead vehicle needs to be actively driven while the other vehicle’s drivers can sit back and enjoy the ride.
Obviously, there are several questions to be answered:
- If the lead vehicle gets in an accident, is his insurance the only one that pays while everyone else claims “hey, I was just following?”
- What about when he pulls off to go to McDonald’s? Does everyone else have to get McCrappy’s too?
Here’s the basics of how the system works, with pictures thanks to the BBC.
A lead vehicle (in this case a semi-truck) is driving along in the left lane (stupid Brits) and some others vehicles have latched on to form a Road Train. These drivers are probably busy sending text messages and reading the latest Oprah Book Club.
Then another vehicle approaches, its sensors alert the driver that there is a Road Train ahead. That driver can then come up at the end of the Road Train and hitch on as caboose. Then he’s free to fire up the DVD player and watch the rest of the episodes of Lost he’s behind on.
Now some lady in the middle realizes that she’s about to pass her exit and she’d better leave the happy Road Train if she doesn’t want to be late for her combination psychotherapy and trumpet session. So she tells the Road Train she’s gonna bail and then makes a totally dangerous and illegal multiple lane change, nearly hitting a car full of nuns, but manages to make her exit.
The researchers involved in this were going to try it out in the U.S., but couldn’t adequately tie it in with Al Quaeda, so they failed to get government funding. They did manage to get the UK, Sweden and Spain to allow them to try it, though.
The first series will take place on closed roads under controlled circumstances and, as the software and technology improves, the tests will then take place on public roadways.
The Road Train has some cool implications and could make a lot of people’s lives better. For those of you who commute to work everyday (sucks to be you), this might make those hours in traffic a little more bearable. Now, sit back with me and imagine the next car chase involving a stolen car equipped with RT technology, a cop car on the chase, and a bunch of ninnies who latch on just because they can…
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