Overview of FY 2000 Research Activities
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Tetsuji Isogai Managing Director Advanced Cruise-Assist Highway System Research Association |
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Fig.1. Placement of AHSRA Research
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I will not define AHS here, but would like to touch on the levels of service that it provides. There are three levels, and they are clearly defined according to the stages of system development. The services at the first stage are AHS-i, or information provision services. The services at the next stage are AHS-c, or control support services. The services at the final stages are AHS-a, or automated cruise services. Our research and development objectives center on the practical application of AHS-i and AHS-c. (Fig.2.)
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Fig. 2. AHS Definition and Levels of Service
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The key concept of our research is cooperative vehicle-highway coordination, and I would like to touch on the reasons for this. First of all, Fig. 3 summarizes and compares the functions and features of on-board and infrastructure systems. This figure illustrates clearly how collection of information on the vehicle's surroundings, for example, is a strength of on-board systems but a weakness of the infrastructure. On the other hand, although on-board systems are weak in the collection of information on distant objects and blind spots, these can be handled by the infrastructure. Each system has its advantages and handicaps.
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Fig.3. Comparison of On-board and Infrastructure Systems
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A vehicle operating only with its own system has limitations with respect to some of these functions. It would be difficult, for example, for a vehicle to detect obstacles beyond its range of vision or to perceive obstacles obscured by bad weather. It would also be difficult, of course, for a vehicle to predict sudden changes in the condition of the road surface or anything of that sort. The key to overcoming limitations of this kind is cooperation of smart cars and smart infrastructure.
European and American research has so far concentrated mainly on independent on-board systems. In Japan, research has been focused on cooperative vehicle-highway from the beginning, and I think that we are leading the world in this field. I understand that Europe and America have recently come to realize the importance of cooperative vehicle-highway, as well, and more research is being devoted to it.
My next topic is the cooperation of the three fields of Cruise Assist Systems research. The Advanced Safety Vehicle (ASV) project carries on Smart Car research on the vehicle side, and the AHS project does Smartway research on road infrastructure, while the Association of Radio Industries & Business (ARIB) handles Smart Gateway research from the perspective of communications. Research on Cruise Assist Systems is proceeding on the basis of cooperation among these three fields. (Fig.4.)
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Fig.4. Cruise Assist Systems
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Fig.5 is a conceptual view of the seven safety services that have been assigned priority for implementation. The nature of these services was determined through agreement with the ASV project.
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Fig.5. Seven User Safety Services
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Next, I would like to give a brief overview of accident causes. Approximately 50% of the traffic accidents in Japan are caused by delayed recognition or perception, approximately 9% by errors in judgement, and 16% by errors in operation. Excluding the 25% that are caused by reckless driving, drunk driving, and other such factors for which preventive measures cannot be taken, this means that approximately 75% of accidents can potentially be prevented. Consequently, the principle of Cruise Assist Systems is to provide the driver with three-fold support from the perspectives of recognition, judgement, and operation. (Fig.6, Fig.7.)
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Fig.6. Causes of Accidents
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Fig.7. Driver-Behavior Model and Content of Support
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