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This technology has good implications for either the driverless car
or the blind-drivable car. This will be an interesting test.<br>
<br>
Cordially,<br>
Bill<br>
<br>
<br>
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<td>Article from Chicago Sun Times Business 2012 06 10</td>
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<td>Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:30:15 -0400 (EDT)</td>
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<td>NFB-NEWSLINE Online <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:nfbnewsline@nfb.org"><nfbnewsline@nfb.org></a></td>
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<th align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE" nowrap="nowrap">To: </th>
<td>William B. Reif <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:billreif@ameritech.net"><billreif@ameritech.net></a></td>
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Cars avoid crashes by talking to each other By JOAN LOWY Associated
Press June 10, 2012 4:08PM As a safety demonstration, it was a
heart-stopper: A Ford Taurus was seconds away from cruising through
an intersection when suddenly a row of red lights pulsed on the
lower windshield and a warning blared that another car was
approaching fast on the cross street. Braking quickly, the driver
stopped just as the second car, previously unseen behind a large
parked truck, barreled through a red light and across the Ford's
path. The display at a recent transportation conference was a peek
into the future of automotive safety: cars that to talk to each
other and warn drivers of impending collisions. Later this summer,
the government is launching a yearlong, real-world test involving
nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses using volunteer drivers in Ann
Arbor, Mich. The vehicles will be equipped to continuously
communicate over wireless networks, exchanging information on
location, direction and speed 10 times a second with other similarly
equipped cars within about 1,000 feet. A computer analyzes the
information and issues danger warnings to drivers, often before they
can see the other vehicle. On roadways today, the Taurus in the
demonstration likely would have been T-boned slammed in the side by
the other car. There were more than 7,800 fatal intersection
accidents on U.S. roadways in 2010. Called vehicle-to-vehicle
communication, or V2V, more advanced versions of the systems can
take control of a car to prevent an accident by applying brakes when
the driver reacts too slowly to a warning. V2V is our next
evolutionary step ... to make sure the crash never happens in the
first place, which is, frankly, the best safety scenario we can all
hope for, said David Strickland, administrator of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. V2V technology holds the
potential to help in most crashes that aren't alcohol or drug
related, Strickland said. But a lot will depend on how drivers
respond to the warnings, and that's one reason for the Ann Arbor
test. Overall, more than 32,000 people were killed in traffic
accidents last year. In addition to warning of cars running red
lights or stop signs, connected cars can let drivers know if they
don't have time to make a left turn because of oncoming traffic.
When driving on a two-lane road, the systems warn when passing is
unsafe because of oncoming cars even vehicles around a curve that
the driver can't see yet. In a line of heavy traffic, the systems
issue an alert if a car several vehicles ahead brakes hard even
before the vehicle directly in front brakes. And the systems alert
drivers when they're at risk of rear-ending a slower-moving car.
It's also possible for connected cars to exchange information with
traffic lights, signs and roadways if states and communities decide
to equip their transportation infrastructure with similar
technology. The information would be relayed to traffic management
centers, tipping them off to congestion, accidents or obstructions.
If cars are reported to be swerving in one spot on a roadway, for
example, that could indicate a large pothole or obstruction. The
constant stream of vehicle-to-infrastructure, or V2I, information
could give traffic managers a better picture of traffic flows than
they have today, enabling better timing of traffic signals to keep
cars moving, for example. Correspondingly, cars could receive
warnings on traffic tie-ups ahead and rerouting directions. NHTSA
has been working on the technology for the past decade along with
eight automakers: Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai-Kia,
Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen. We think this is
really the future of transportation safety, and it's going to make a
huge difference in the way we live our lives, said Scott Belcher,
president of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America,
which promotes technology solutions to transportation problems. The
technology is already available, said Rob Strassburger, vice
president for safety of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. He
said what's needed is for the government to set standards so that
all automakers use compatible technology. Since V2V relies on
wireless technology, ensuring that the safety systems are reliable
and can't be hacked is another concern, NHTSA officials said. The
safety benefits of V2V won't be fully realized until there is a
critical mass of cars on the road that can talk to each other, and
just where that point lies isn't known. By the time the government
sets standards and automakers are able to respond, it may be 10
years before the technology is widely available on new cars. It
takes about 30 years for a new technology to work its way into the
entire population of cars. Creating consumer demand for the
technology could speed up its introduction, Strassburger said.
There's already demand for information on traffic tie-ups and
rerouting that drivers can download to their smartphones, he said.
Automakers dislike government mandates requiring them to add
technology to cars, but that's probably what's needed, said Clarence
Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer
group. If you have the technology, and the price has gone down so
much, use it, he said. You aren't going to get it into the
marketplace as fast as you could and save as many lives as you could
unless you mandate it. Some of the safety technologies for V2V are
already available in cars, although they tend to be offered
primarily on higher-end models. Lane departure systems, for example,
warn drivers when their vehicle unintentionally wanders from its
lane, and some can automatically steer the car back. Blind spot
systems warn drivers of vehicles in adjacent lanes, and some can
also steer away from hazards. Forward collision warning systems
alert drivers to impending crashes, and some can automatically brake
if the driver doesn't respond. Adaptive cruise control automatically
adjusts vehicle speed to maintain a set distance from the car ahead
in the same lane. Adaptive headlights change their aim in
conjunction with the steering wheel. Parking sensors and
rear-mounted cameras help a driver parallel park without scraping
paint, bumping fenders or hitting pedestrians. A key difference is
that most of the current technologies rely on radar or laser sensors
to see other nearby vehicles. They can't warn drivers about cars
they can't see, such as the car that ran the red light in the
intersection demonstration, or an oncoming car around a curve in the
road. Together, the currently available technologies and the future
V2V systems may effectively form a kind of autopilot for the road.
Said Strassburger: The long-term trajectory for these technologies
is the vehicle that drives itself the driverless car. Follow Joan
Lowy at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.twitter.com/APJoanLowy">http://www.twitter.com/APJoanLowy</a> Online: National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.nhtsa.gov">http://www.nhtsa.gov</a> <br>
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