 |
Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive cruise control implemented in just one out of five cars could significantly improve highway safety and reduce traffic jams, according to a recent study by a University of Michigan physicist.
Scientists concluded more than a decade ago that cars behave like molecules in a gas. When cars ahead of you stop or slow down, it's like a compression pressure wave propagating back to you. It can last for hours, long after the original stimulus to slow down has been fixed (remember all those times you jammed on the brakes, and yet never got to the "problem" further down the road?). As many as three-quarters of traffic jams are like this.
Adaptive cruise control uses a radar sensor to gauge distance between vehicles, adjusting speed to maintain safe distance. With faster than human reaction times, they make tailgating safer. And ACC can reduce the problem of "compression wave" slowdowns, since ACC does not just slam on the brakes. Computer simulations show that if only one car in five had ACC, there would be far fewer traffic jams.
For the sf view on smart vehicles, see the entry for Camden Speedster from Robert Heinlein's 1958 novel Methuselah's Children. For more on the story, see A few computer-controlled cars can help traffic; thanks to
Techdirt for the story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/2/2004)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Artificial Intelligence ")
Pun Generation Via Neural Nets
'You said you wanted him to be able to distinguish between laugh-power in different gags...' - William Tenn, 1951.
Can We Comprehend Deep Learning Systems?
'You’ve nothing remotely like it, so I can’t describe it to you.' - Lewis Padgett, 1943.
Datagrid Model Generation Perfect For Eternal Cities Of Science Fiction
'... there was enough flexibility to allow for wide variation. - Arthur C. Clarke, 1956.
Amazon Echo And Google Home Should Have Morality Software
'The Dwoskin Morality Rating-Computer could 'spot the slightest tendency to deviation' from the social norm...' - Kendall Foster Crossen, 1953.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Nobe 3-Wheel Electric Vehicle Parking Like I, Robot
Spidercar, Spidercar, does whatever a spidercar does.
Michelin Self-Sealing Tires On Ford's Explorer
'...a seal of compressed plastifoam to save the air.'
Mushroom Eats Plastic, Saves Planet
Fungus Amongus, SaveUs!
Juggalo Face Paint Disrupts Facial Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Mojipic Smart Voice Vehicle Emojis
KITT, what's your response?
Unusual Twist On Woman Dates Robot
'My hearing, vision and awareness went along with that excellent imitation of a young Adonis...'
BrainNet Triple Telepathic Gaming Threat
'In the gloomy half-darkness the three idiots sat babbling.'
AVAS Noisemakers Required For EVs By EU
'...a sound tape to supply the noise of a soi-disant "[internal combustion]" engine...'
Pun Generation Via Neural Nets
'You said you wanted him to be able to distinguish between laugh-power in different gags...'
Blood Battery Robotic Fish
'With one fluid motion, it surged forward, plunged, and was gone.'
Lightyear One Solar-Powered Electric Car (Design By Heinlein)
'It drew its power from six square yards of sunpower screens on its low curved roof.'
'Agression Detectors' Don't Work When Spying On Students
'The professional agitators had also learned how to modulate their voices below the danger level...'
Mining Of Golden Asteroid Foretold In 1898 Science Fiction
'This must be a golden planet—this little asteroid.'
Miners! NASA Wants To License RASSOR Excavator
'The borers had been dismantled and packed away.'
Bee+ Robobee Now With Four Wings
'It was a tiny thing, scarcely more than an inch and a half in length...'
CNSILK Robotic Spider Builder
'We could certainly spin a web right through the Solar System, if we can think of a good use for one.'
