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Outline of AVG Demo '98
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 The automobile industry, and various governments and research institutes are participating in the Telematics for Transport programmes of the current Fourth Stage Research Programme. It focuses on the demonstration and implementation of AVG systems and includes the following projects:
 CHAUFFEUR
AC ASSIST
Urban Drive Control (UDC)
SAVE
AHSEA
IN-ARTE
LACOS
RESPONSE
CHAUFFEUR
 The CHAUFFEUR project involves work on an electronic link between two lorries (Daimler Benz and IVECO), only the first of which will be operated by a driver. These lorries are supposed to be able to drive at a very short distance from one another at a speed of approximately 85 km/hr. The project uses sensors which, in combination with video registration, keep the lorries in their own lane. The distance between the vehicles is likewise maintained using video registration and infrared signals. 5.8 Ghz radio transceivers allow exchange of information between the vehicles.
In the future this concept will be expanded to include more lorries (platooning), and automated guidance (without a driver) of the vehicles. Within the scope of the CHAUFFEUR project, only a feasibility study is performed on this aspect.
AC ASSIST (Anti-Collision Autonomous Support and Safety Intervention System)
The objective of AC ASSIST is to support drivers, particularly in critical situations. The project will therefore focus on collision avoidance. The Adaptive Cruise Control will first be refined for this purpose. In addition, collision warning and collision avoidance systems are being developed. These can detect stationary objects in time and either warn the driver of the vehicle or take action itself (braking), using microwave radar and computer vision.
The main objective of AC ASSIST is to increase road safety by being able to intervene extremely rapidly in critical situations. In addition, the use of Adaptive Cruise Control will lead to a more stable driving style. As a result, the vehicle will burn less fuel and emit fewer gasses.
Comfort is also increased for the driver of a vehicle equipped with the systems described above. He can also drive under difficult conditions, whether external (bad weather, poor visibility) or personal (older, physically challenged).
The automobile manufacturers Jaguar, Volvo, Renault and Rover are co-operating in AC ASSIST.
Urban Drive Control (UDC)
UDC’s objective is twofold: to enhance the flow of traffic in cities and to reduce the pollution caused by city traffic. The system furthers these societal interests, as well as the driver’s own individual interests. This results in the following solution: beacons along the road (5.8 GHz) are used to calculate the favourable speed which the motorist can maintain (for example, to avoid having to stop at traffic lights). This speed is either recommended to him, or imposed automatically. His vehicle will have to be equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control for this system to work.
Because urban traffic flows will go more smoothly with UDC, road capacity will increase. Travel time per vehicle will decrease, as will exhaust fumes and noise level. Last, but not least, driver comfort will increase, and the risk of accidents will decline.
UDC is currently being tested in Turin. Expectations are that this AVG application stands a very good chance of being implemented world-wide. Fiat, PSA, Jaguar and Renault are participating in the European UDC project.
SAVE (System for effective Assessment of driver state and Vehicle control in Emergency Situations)
A complete detection system is being developed within the scope of this sub-project, known as the "SAVE-unit", which detects inattentiveness or poor functioning on the part of the driver. What’s more, this system should be able to intervene by warning the driver and other motorists and subsequently safely park the vehicle on the shoulder. A link with an emergency service notification system is also planned. A feasibility study of this is being performed in the context of the SAVE project.
The SAVE unit will be able to monitor eye movements, the position of the head, grip on the steering wheel, etc. An assessment of the driver’s attention will be made based on his personal characteristics.
Vehicles equipped with a SAVE unit increase not only the safety of the driver but also of other motorists. The unit is in fact an extra safety measure which can be installed in the vehicle and which will probably give the elderly and the physically challenged a greater feeling of security behind the wheel.
In addition to the automobile manufacturers Fiat and Renault, the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (Directorate-General of Public Works and Water Management), TNO and the University of Groningen are also participating in SAVE. The former are already busy with concrete applications.
AHSEA (Automated Highway System European Analysis)
Since early 1998, the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management has been working with Daimler Benz, BMW, Fiat, Renault and Volkswagen on various aspects of the implementation of AVG. Suitable locations are being sought for demonstrations where the various systems can be implemented. In addition, the legal and safety aspects of AVG are being studied.
IN-ARTE
IN-ARTE (Integration of Navigation and Anticollision for Rural Traffic Environment) focuses on the rural areas. In rural environment (limited number of lanes, simple intersections, various types of curves, non optimum infrastructure, limited numbers of vulnerable road users) 28% of injury accidents take place, accounting for 58% of deaths. Most of them have been related to problems in driven vision and vehicle conspicuity, poor judgement of drivers’ speed, driver merging difficulties in junctions and lane change errors (even in only two lane streets).
Hence, the aim of IN-ARTE is to develop an integrated autonomous on-board system to be able to build an extended view of the environment in front of the vehicle, integrating signals from anticollision radar, road recognition CCD sensor, digital road map, and navigation system in order to guide and warn the driver through an optimum HMI in a series of rural areas related traffic tasks, such as intersection handling, speed selection while negotiating curves, obstacle detection, etc. This integrated approach will improve the performances of today driver support systems (Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Warning, Lane Recognition, Navigation) in the highway scenario and extend their field of operation in the more complex rural environment.
LACOS
The LAteral COntrol Support project (LACOS) will address the end user needs for driver assistance systems to support the driving task especially in critical situations. The focus of the LACOS project will be the validation of autonomous systems capable of providing driver assistance for Anti-collision purposes along the lateral axis of the vehicle: lane change, lane/road departure, robustness due to the synergism between the two tasks.
Lateral control of the vehicle, in fact, has already been evidenced as one of the more critical manoeuvre for the driver. All users will benefit of the system, particularly elderly and disable.
RESPONSE
Besides the projects mentioned above, the Fourth Stage Research Programme of the European Union also contains the RESPONSE project. Due to ongoing negotiations about this project, no further information can be supplied at this moment. |
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