Robot Cars a Reality?

[Logan Westbrook]

Robot Cars a Reality?

A European project is working on a system that would allow cars to drive themselves, without needed any infrastructure changes or new technology.

The project, called 'Safe Road Trains for the Environment' or 'Sartre' for short, is an EU initiative co-ordinated by a UK based automotive engineering firm and involves the idea of road trains, where a lead vehicle, perhaps a truck or a bus or something similarly large, is followed by a short train of smaller vehicles that follow its lead automatically, allowing the passengers to relax until they get close to their destination, at which point they take control of their vehicles and drive as normal.

''The aim is to encourage the development of safe and environmentally effective roadtrains. By developing and implementing the technology at a vehicle level, Sartre aims to realise the potentially very significant safety and environmental benefits of road trains without the need to invest in changes to road infrastructure," said co-ordinator Tom Robinson, of automotive engineering company Ricardo UK, which is based at Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex.

The road trains would be more fuel efficient, with energy savings of approximately 20% as the train makes use of slipstreams to reduce air resistance, and according to researchers they would be a major benefit to people who regularly cover long distances. Trials on the Sartre system begin on test tracks in the UK, Spain and Sweden in 2011

Source: The Telegraph [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/6926514/Self-drive-cars-on-roads-within-10-years.html]


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[Cowabungaa]

Soooooo if the lead car fraks up, or gets frakked up through a flat tire or engine problems, what then?

No I'm rather wary of developments of this. For a geek and nerd, I'm pretty damn old-fashioned, techology-wise. I rather keep my fate into my own hands, not hand it to a computer, even though I'm doing that already unknowingly on a daily basis. Blech.

 

[Swaki]

sounds kinda awesome, but the whole safe thing kinda mess up once on of the middle cars will try to get out if they are driving automatically at the same speed or if its a female driver

also tons of things could go wrong if the cars are as close as shown in the blueprint (is it still called that when its whit and yellow?), but i'm all for technology advances and you cant make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, and if it leads to fewer broken eggs and more omelets then huzzah, ill quit now while its still kinda possible to figure out what the metaphor means.

 

[WrongSprite]

Nah, when it gets to the point where you have to start driving again, people might not be paying attention, and they'd just roll off.

 

[Ranooth]

So what happens when that lead vehicle has to do an emergency stop to avoid killing the child/old person/dog in the road?

A certain scene from Final Destination anyone?

 

[Irridium]

No. I say its bad.

Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window.

 

[LTK_70]

I saw a project on Discovery that involved electric cars that you could either drive on the road or put on a monorail like a train. It's a decent idea but hard to implement. But this looks like a much better alternative. As far as the hardware goes, you don't need an overhaul because everyone already has a car. I like it, can't wait to see where it goes.

But you know how it goes with ambitious, world-saving projects. If all goes perfectly well, my children might be driving in car trains.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

I imagine the process for disengaging from the "train" are sufficiently complicated, to ensure drivers are prepared to take control of the car again. As for driving the lead car, it seems like having it be a bus or truck is twofold: the incidental energy savings by aerodynamic effect, and the fact that the driver of such a vehicle has the experience required to safely drive something so long without causing an accident.

Additionally, special legislation for "trains" will likely reduce accidents further. It's not like other drivers won't notice a truck with a giant logo that says "pay attention - there's some robot cars behind me", followed by maybe a dozen cars spaced about a foot apart. These things aren't exactly designed to reduce traffic congestion just yet, so there will probably be a limited length or designated lane for these systems as well.

Engineers don't just make stuff without at least considering safety.

 

[chromewarriorXIII]

I can see this working but not being accepted. People think that they can drive better then a computer, which I think we know is false due to the amounts of idiots on the roads these days. Plus, all it takes is one of said idiots to screw up to cause a pile-up.

 

[CharlesVI]

why not just use real trains?

 

[wordsmith]

why not just use real trains?

Because driving is so much more fun than just being pulled along?

Incidentally, this is also why I wouldn't buy the robot car...

 

[Monocle Man]

[HEADING=2]Are you Sarah Connor?[/HEADING]

No, I don't think giving control of vehicles to computers is a good idea. The logic is that a computer wouldn't be prone to the stupid mistakes humans make, but it disregards the fact that idiot humans [i]program[/i] these autonav systems, often utilizing the cheapest possible labor. I don't like the idea that on the promise of some pizza and pop-tarts, they hire some totally baked college kid writing the autopilot script for my car. But more than that, I don't think I'd feel secure using such a system when the person in front of my car, and the one behind me, are probably pants-on-head retarded themselves, and likely to flip off their nav system by accident as they try to do yoga in the driver's seat. Or another problem to consider, who ever said the lead vehicle is being driven by a competent individual? Could be riding behind some total derp-tard who ends up getting into an accident, which would then be quite the pile-up as the "train" follows suit.[/QUOTE]
What if an idiot sits behind the wheel of a self-controlled car and decides to ram everyone on the highway?

Such a system is made to make it safer, if tests show that they're far from safe the government will ban such things from the road, obviously.

It's an interesting idea. That's it, if it will work: Awesome. If it will be useless: Oh well, lets pretend it never existed.

 

[Player 2]

robot cars have been real for ages, they have competitions where people have to successfully get riderless cars around tracks.

 

[Latinidiot]

[HEADING=2]Are you Sarah Connor?[/HEADING]

who ever said the lead vehicle is being driven by a competent individual? Could be riding behind some total derp-tard who ends up getting into an accident, which would then be quite the pile-up as the "train" follows suit.

normal busses are driven by pros,so why shouldn't these be?
also, i think we should do this. it's a small step forwards, but it's a step.

 

[Sevre]

Yay! Potential Disaster!

Do they expect the lead vehicle to carry them? If they're linked how are they going to be detached? Has no one stopped to think of the problems?

 

[1gremlyn1]

I think it's a good idea, and if all the cars are braking automatically at the same rate, then stopping distances wouldn't be an issue (although in reality the cars would not brake at the same rate, but the thinking distance would be much reduced). I just don't think that many people would use it, as if a lorry is the lead vehicle, then it will be much slower than driving normally.

 

[KDR_11k]

Well, we had robot vehicles some years ago with those DARPA challenges...