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SHRI KRISHNA EDUCATIAL & CULTURAL

MANDAL’S
SHRI SURESHDADA JAIN COLLEGE OF
ENGINEERING,
SHIRSOLI ROAD. JALGAON [M.S.]

A SEMINAR REPORT ON
AUTOMATED HIGHWAY SYSTEM
Submitted By:
Shimpi Tanmay R.
Guided by:

Department of Automobile Engineering


Academic year
2009-2010
Affiliated to North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon
(NAAC Accredited ****)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my privilege to acknowledge with deep sense of gratitude to my


Seminar report Guide Prof. M.S.Singh for their valuable suggestion &
guidance throughout my course of study & timely help given to me in
the completion of this Seminar report.

I am highly obliged to the our respected Principal Dr. A. J. Patil, H.O.D


of Automobile Dept. Prof. S. J.Chaudhari and entire staff of Automobile
Dept. for their kind help & co-operation. I also take this opportunity to
thank all my colleagues for offering all possible helps.

Shimpi Tanmay R.
B.E Automobile
Certificate

Shrikrishna Educational & Cultural Mandal’s

Shri Sureshdada Jain College of Engineering,


Shirsoli Road, Jalgaon (M.S.)
DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

This is certify that Mr. Shimpi Tanmay R


has successfully presented the Seminar report on

AUTOMATED HIGHWAY SYSTEM


And submitted in satisfactory manner.

This Seminar report is submitted in partial fulfillment for the Final year in Automobile
Engineering affiliated to North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon (M.S.)

SEMINAR GUIDE HOD

Prof. M.S.Singh Prof. S. J. Chaudhari

PRINCIPAL

Dr. A. J. Patil
INDEX
1. Introduction
2. Background
3. Objectives of Automated highway systems
4. How it Works
5. Theory
i) Implementation
ii) Methodology
6. ADVANTAGES
7. Future scope
8. Conclusion
Figure
Figure no 1
Figure no 2
Figure no 3
Figure no 4
Figure no 5
Figure no 6
Figure no 7
Figure no 8
Figure no 9
Introduction:-
An automated highway system (AHS) or Smart Road is a proposed intelligent
transportation system technology designed to provide for driverless cars on specific rights-of-
way. It is most often touted as a means of traffic congestion relief, since it drastically reduces
following distances and thus allows more cars to occupy a given stretch of road.

Background
Every major city suffers from the problems that are related to increasing mobility demands.
Cities have to deal with pollution, congestion and safety problems caused by increasing traffic.
Traditional transport systems are not sufficient anymore to cope with these increasing problems.

With the exception of some automatically operated metro systems (Paris, London and Lille) and
some recently introduced automated buses and people-movers (Clermont-Ferrand, Eindhoven
and Capelle aan de IJssel), transport systems in the present-day European city are mostly of a
traditional type.

automated highway system will contribute to innovative solutions that will allow increased
mobility in a well-controlled manner, using technologies with low pollution, high safety levels
and a much increased efficiency, using either a separate infrastructure or existing roads. In
future mobility scenarios, such new transport systems will be part of the urban environment.
These new transport systems will be the answer to the new mobility demands of the future
society. In our vision, the urban mobility will be greatly supported by new transport system
concepts, which are able to improve the efficiency of road transport in dense areas while at the
same time help to reach the zero accident target and minimize nuisances.
Objectives
Automated highway system’s ambitious goals can be achieved by:

 Developing advanced concepts for advanced road vehicles for passengers and
goods. Most of the earlier projects addressed isolated aspects of the mobility problems of
cities, whereas AUTOMATED HIGHWAY SYSTEM focuses on the overall urban
transportation problem

 Introducing new tools for managing urban transport. AUTOMATED HIGHWAY


SYSTEM will develop tools that can help cities to cross the thresholds that are preventing
them from introducing innovative systems. For instance, the absence of certification
procedures and the lack of suitable business models will be addressed.

 Taking away barriers that are in the way of large-scale introduction of automated
systems. Some of these barriers are of a technological nature, some are of a legal or
administrative nature: for example, the legal requirement for vehicles using public roads
where the driver is responsible for the vehicle at all times, which effectively prohibits
driverless vehicles from using public roads.

 Validating and demonstrating the concepts, methods and tools developed in


AUTOMATED HIGHWAY SYSTEM in European cities. In a number of other cities,
studies will be carried out to show that an automated transport system is not only feasible,
but will also contribute to a sustainable solution for the city’s mobility problems, now and in
the future.

 To survey and document automated highway system with pedestrian safety


systems on roads. These systems include crossing control arms, video cameras, radar and
acoustic detection systems, skirts, and collision avoidance systems.
How it works

In one scheme, the roadway has magnetized stainless-steel spikes driven one meter apart in its
center The car senses the spikes to measure its speed and locate the center of the lane.
Furthermore, the spikes can have either magnetic north or magnetic south facing up. The
roadway thus has small amounts of digital data describing interchanges, recommended speeds,
etc.

The cars have power steering and automatic speed controls, which are controlled by a computer.

The cars organize themselves into platoons of eight to twenty-five cars. The platoons drive
themselves a meter apart, so that air resistance is minimized. The distance between platoons is
the conventional braking distance. If anything goes wrong, the maximum number of harmed cars
should be one platoon.

Fig no.1 intelligent vehicle with sensors and actuators


Theory
In order to achieve an optimal utilization of the existing transportation system, the authorities
strive to alleviate the prevailing car-caused problems by means of coordinating physical flows of
road traffic. In addition, they take into account preserving accessibility and environment as well
as enhancing road safety. These processes take place at a given demand for road traffic that is
assumed to be fixed in time and place (i.e., no demand management). As far as the above-
mentioned aims are concerned, we distinguish two classes of involved information systems

 Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) and


 Advanced Traffic Control Systems (ATCS).

Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS)

The class of Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) is area-oriented and concentrates
on a (certain part of a) road network (e.g. congregated sections of the freeway network or parts
of the urban or the rural network). The traffic performance on the remaining (parts of the) road
networks are considered to be of less interest for ATMS. For the concerning area, ATMS aim at
an optimal traffic performance at system level, which might be expressed as serving as many
cars on the concerning road network, dissipating a minimum total travel time. In this way,
ATMS strive for a system optimum.

To achieve a system optimum, ATMS require relevant information about the actual system
performance on the entire road infrastructure under consideration. Only in this way, ATMS can
dynamically adjust or distribute the actually offered traffic to or over the available infrastructural
capacity by means of traffic management measures. The information about the actual status of
the traffic (and the infrastructure) should be available in real-time (e.g. in time intervals of 1 to 5
minutes) and concerns traffic data that is aggregated to a certain extent. An important
characteristic of ATMS applications is that decisions are made and measures are (seen to be)
implemented by traffic managers in the traffic center, which complete the collected external data
collections with know-how gathered by training and experience.

Since the administrators of ATMS applications are the road authorities, which are also
responsible for the road infrastructure, an ATMS monitoring system is obviously based on fixed
traffic detectors that are mounted in, above or along the road infrastructure. We will refer to this
type of detectors as infrastructure based traffic detectors. As a consequence of the network-wide
oriented nature of ATMS, an ATMS monitoring system using fixed, infrastructure based traffic
detectors (e.g. inductive loops) is characterized by rather large detector spacing’s (typically of 5
to 10 kilometers. Shorter distances between the detectors would make such a network-wide
monitoring system financially prohibitive.

A typical example of an ATMS application is Incident Management, which deals with swiftly
detecting disturbances in the traffic flows, estimating expected delay, determining spare capacity
of the remaining road links and proportionally distributing traffic over the entire network.
Advanced Traffic Control Systems (ATCS)

Advanced Traffic Control Systems (ATCS) serves as 'executive complement' to the class of
Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS). ATCS are local-oriented and concentrate on
certain parts of the road infrastructure (i.e., critical or notorious bottlenecks, such as bridges,
tunnels and on/off ramps). For these local sites, ATCS aim at an optimal traffic performance at
local level. This might be expressed as serving as many of the offered cars as possible in a time
period that is as short as possible, so dissipating a minimum total time loss. In this way, ATCS
strive for a local optimum.

The instruments belonging to the class of ATCS are more or less rigid standard operations,
which can be fully automated and need no human intervention. Hence, according to the
definition of information systems given before, ATCS constitute no true information system (the
component 'persons' is not involved). The exact objectives of the particular ATCS can be
modified by the corresponding ATMS, for instance by adjusting certain parameters. The
complexity of computer models and the calculation speed of computers restrict area-wide
application of ATCS, because computations and actions need to be performed in real-time. The
data collections for ATCS should be very accurate, possibly relate to individual vehicles and be
directly available in real-time (e.g. in intervals of several seconds to 1 minute).

As a consequence of the local oriented nature of ATCS, an ATCS monitoring system exclusively
concerns the direct vicinity of the corresponding (ATCS) traffic control system and basically
only provides traffic data for this control system. Moreover, only fixed, infrastructure based
traffic detectors (e.g. inductive loops) with very small detector spacings (typically of some
hundreds of meters) will be suitable. Since ATCS applications concern only a very limited
geographical area, these detector spacings are financially affordable. Longer distances between
the detectors, or utilization of non-infrastructure based traffic detectors is not eligible as this can
only provide data with a accuracy and a reliability that will be too low for ATCS.

A typical example of an ATC system application is ramp metering, which deals with gradually
allowing vehicles on the on-ramp to enter the freeway, depending on the proportion between the
actual flow and capacity of the freeway. Almost all traffic systems that are currently employed
belong to the class of ATCS applications.
Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS)

Where the road authorities aim at achieving an optimal utilization of 'their' transportation system,
in general, road users may be assumed to be predominantly interested in accomplishing an
optimal route from their origin to their destination over this infrastructure (user optimum). This
might be expressed in a minimal travel time (or a minimal generalized time, so comprising the
actual or perceived travel time, traveled distance, et cetera) for their entire trip. The third class of
applications of transportation telematics that we distinguish, the class of Advanced Traveler
Information Systems (ATIS), supports the road user in achieving this task. Hence, the core
objective of ATIS is to provide each road user with the information he or she needs to achieve
his or her specific travel objectives, within the limiting conditions dictated by the various ATMS
and ATCS applications. In this way, ATIS strive for several individual users optima.

For the purpose of supporting and achieving several individual users' optima, ATIS require
information about complete routes from origin to destination, about delays on the regular route,
about the travel time on alternative routes and about alternative ways of available transport, at
the moment of passage. This implies that specific parts of different networks (urban, rural and
state) that are relevant during a specific trip are of interest, with information about delays on
routes at the moment they will actually be used (requiring short term predictions) instead of
instantaneous information. Hence, the regular traffic information to be obtained for ATIS
purposes may become available every rather long time interval of for instance 5 to 15 minutes
(incidents should be reported more swiftly). These characteristics are in sharp contradiction to
the information requirements of ATMS applications, which demand predominantly actual (i.e.
real-time) information about one, but entire network.

As a consequence of the established characteristics of ATIS information, i.e. both area-wide and
concerning several networks that cover each entire route, an ATIS monitoring system can not
always practically be based on fixed, infrastructure based traffic detectors. In particular installing
fixed traffic detectors in an entire urban road network, requiring extremely short detector
spacing’s due to the close-meshed urban road infrastructure, would be unrealistic. Furthermore,
in consideration of the opposite objectives of ATMS and ATIS, an ATIS monitoring system
should preferably be independent of an ATMS monitoring system and preferably be based on
anything but infrastructure based traffic detectors exploited by government or state. For these
specific ATIS purposes, one can use a monitoring system based on non-infrastructure based
detectors, such as probe vehicles. These are normal vehicles that participate in the traffic flow,
are equipped with a location and communication device and accordingly transmit experienced
traffic data to a traffic center.
1) Implementation:-
We are set to begin testing an intelligent transportation system in Japan that allows
vehicle- infrastructure communication to help reduce traffic accidents and ease congestion. The
system uses information obtained from nearby vehicles and roadside optical beacons to
wirelessly alert drivers to potential danger from approaching vehicles. It also provides drivers
with fastest-route information with Nissan’s probe server collecting city –wide traffic data from
the mobile phones of Nissan’s CARWINGS navigation service subscribers, taxi services, and
vehicle data collected by mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo. This information is then sent to
the driver’s navigation screen where it is displayed as real-time maps showing the traffic flow
and density. Screen shots and diagrams here.

Fig no.2.Actual Smart vehicle system

The test, which is being conducted to evaluate the receptivity of drivers to such a system, run
from Oct. 1, 2006 until the end of March 2009 in Kanagawa Prefecture, about 25 kilometers
southwest of Tokyo. About 10,000 drivers, who must be subscribers to Nissan’s CARWINGS
navigation service, participated in the test.

The trial tested the following components of the system:


Vehicle alert

This system alerts drivers to the presence of vehicles moving too fast at blind intersections. For
example, if the system determines that a car is approaching a driver too fast from the left, a
buzzer will sound and a voice recording will call out: “Car approaching from left.” At the same
time, an image of an approaching vehicle will appear on the driver’s CARWINGS navigation
screen. The system will also alert a driver when is detects that he or she approaching a stop sign
or red traffic light too fast.

Speed alert

This system warns drivers when they are speeding in a school zone. As soon as a driver passes
the speed limit in the area, a buzzer will sound and a voice recording will warn: “School ahead.
Watch your speed.” An image of a school zone sign will also appear on the driver’s navigation
screen.

Dynamic route finder

This system informs drivers of the quickest route to their destination using probe data collected
from mobile phones of CARWINGS subscribers, including taxi owners, as well as vehicle data
collected by mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo. All of the data is sent to Nissan’s probe
server where it is collectively processed into traffic information. The data is then sent to the
driver’s navigation screen where it is displayed in the form of real-time maps showing the traffic
flow of a greater coverage of roads compared to VICS (Vehicle Information and
Communications System), a public service providing similar information via FM multiplex
broadcasting, as well as radio wave and infrared beacons
2) Methodology:-
Nissan’s intelligent transportation system (ITS) , which employs vehicle-to-infrastructure
communication to enable synchronized communication between vehicles and traffic light
signals, is about to begin the next test-phase. Nissan is installing the advanced traffic signal
infrastructure within its Nissan Technical Center in Kanagawa to collect real-world vehicle data
from several hundred employee cars participating in the project. The new advanced traffic
system is designed to reduce accidents as well as ease traffic congestion, leading to improved on-
the-road fuel consumption.

Fig no.4.Vehicle alert

The test-phase conducted within Nissan’s premises is representative of real-world traffic


conditions, where relevant data from vehicles can be collected and analyzed under a closely-
monitored environment. The vehicle-data input and corresponding traffic-signal output from the
intersections is computed by an advanced traffic light system specifically installed for the test
program.

Two intersecting main roads, one running east-west for two kilometers and the other running
north-south for one kilometer, each with multiple intersections and crosswalks, provide the basic
parameters for the ITS experiment. Nissan has installed standard traffic lights and roadside
optical beacons along these test-roads. Traffic data can be collected from the employee cars and
shuttle buses without any on-board vehicle-modification. However, for specific data to support
the development of the navigation program under testing, several hundred employee cars will be
equipped with the Vehicle Information and Communications System units.
Fig no.5.diagrametic view of implementation of sensors

A new Distance Control Assist System, an electronic system that helps drivers control the
distance between themselves and the vehicle in front. The system is able to determine the
distance to the car in front, as well as the relative speed of both cars, using a radar sensor in the
front bumper.

If the driver releases the accelerator pedal or is not pressing the accelerator pedal, the system
automatically applies the brakes. If the system determines that braking is required, an indicator
will appear on the instrument panel and a buzzer will sound simultaneously. The accelerator
pedal then automatically moves upwards to assist the driver in switching to the brakes. The new
system is especially useful in heavy traffic when frequent braking is required.

The Distance Control Assist System is the latest innovation developed under Nissan’s Safety
Shield concept, and accident prevention and management approach based on the idea of
"vehicles that help protect people".

The Safety Shield concept was introduced in 2004, and revolves around Nissan’s aims to help
create a safe motorized society in which there are no traffic accidents. The company is
continuously working to design and engineer safer vehicles and has set a goal of halving by 2015
the number of fatal and serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles as compared to the 1995 level.
Use of CELL Phone:-

Nissan’s intelligent transportation system test is being implemented in cooperation with NTT
DoCoMo, consumer electronics maker Matsushita Electric, and Xanavi Informatics, a maker of
vehicle navigation systems and software. Matsushita Electric developed the roadside optical
beacons for the test in conjunction with Japan’s National Police Agency, the Kanagawa
Prefectural Police Headquarters and the Universal Traffic Management Society of Japan
(UTMS).

Nissan's new enhanced on-board navigation system will provide drivers with more information
to make safer and greener driving decisions. The company is launching an automotive navigation
system that uses intelligent transportation system (ITS) infrastructure and other advanced
technology to warn drivers of low-visibility intersections, school zones, and navigation-linked
speed control. The navigation system can also recommend faster route calculations, which can
lead to fuel savings.

Fig no.6.use of cell phone for addressing vehicle

We’ve written before about Intelligent Transportation Systems in general and in particular,
Nissan’s ongoing development and trials of Intelligent Transportation Systems in Japan, but a
new development is the use of cell phone technology to help reduce accidents involving
pedestrians. Nissan is researching the pedestrian-related communication involving the
transmitting of pedestrian position data to vehicles via the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Nissan's advanced ITS employs the next 3G cellular communications system, just launched in
Japan, where the GPS function is used as the basis to provide location information of the cellular
phone. In this system, location data transmitted from the pedestrian's cellular phone and vehicle
is fed to the ITS to allow the system to determine the corresponding positions between the
pedestrian and the vehicle. A pedestrian alert will appear onboard the vehicle to warn the driver,
helping to reduce road accidents particularly in a blind-spot situation.

This advanced ITS research consists of the following process:

1) Via cellular packet communications, the system wirelessly collects probe data from the
vehicle (such as position and speed) and position data from pedestrians. The received data is then
computed to determine the corresponding location of the vehicle relative to the pedestrians on
the road. Cellular packet communications is a method of data transfer where the data to be sent
and received are divided into packets of a specific size, allowing a singular line to be shared
among many users and increasing efficiency in telecommunications.

2) The ITS detects pedestrians ahead of the vehicle, and send a warning alert to the driver at the
event of a potential conflict.

Nissan is studying what types of pedestrian data are most relevant to help prevent accidents. The
research will investigate a variety of factors influencing the pedestrian-vehicle's relative
positions, such as the directions, in which pedestrians and the vehicle are moving, and the
corresponding speeds and distances between them. Various driver alerts, such as visual warnings
or audible alarms, are also under study.

Nissan is studying and developing the ITS with technical collaboration from NTT DoCoMo Inc.
on cellular communications technology.

This current research aims to join and contribute to the ITS project, which is a Nissan
experimental program conducted in Kanagawa Prefecture that begun in October 2006. The
program is aimed at efforts to help reduce traffic accidents and congestion utilizing real-time
driving-data collected from the vehicles.

The ITS project allows Nissan to test various technology concepts and develop the most suitable
technology solution for wide-scale application.

The next 3G cellular communications system uses digital cellular phones that meet the
International Telecommunication Union's MT-2000 specification, allowing high-speed data
transfers and delivery of high-volume multi-media information, including sound, images and
video. The world's first 3G service, employing the W-CDMA system, was FOMA by NTT
DoCoMo, which became available in October 2001. FOMA is a registered trademark of NTT
DoCoMo Inc.

The new navigation system, which the company says is the world’s first to incorporate ITS
information in a production vehicle, will be included on the next generation Nissan Fuga late in
2009 in Japan.

The Nissan Fuga is a full-sized luxury car pitched against the Honda Legend, Toyota Crown,
BMW 5 series, Mercedes-Benz E-class and Audi A6.
ITS technology capitalizes on modern communication and information technology networks and
can be incorporated into existing transportation management systems in order to optimize vehicle
life, fuel efficiency and safety. It is also viewed as one method of reducing traffic congestion by
advising motorists of traffic hazards and alternate routes.

Nissan's new navigation system will include four advanced features in addition to the
standard functions:

 intersection/signal warning
 elementary school-zone alerts
 navigation-linked speed control
 enhanced route search and calculation

The goal of the enhanced navigation system is to help prevent accidents at intersections and raise
awareness for safer driving.

Safety features

Intersection and signal warning Using information transmitted from the Driving Safety
Support System (DSSS), drivers can receive audible and display warnings when approaching
some low-visibility intersections.

School zone alerts

When the vehicle enters an elementary school zone and the system determines that a safety
warning is appropriate, based on real-time vehicle information (speed, acceleration, braking,
etc.), it provides audible and display warnings to direct driver attention. This feature is already
available in the recently-released Nissan Skyline Crossover.

Navigation-linked speed control

The system can slow the vehicle’s speed through engine braking, for instance, if it determines
the car is traveling too fast for the sharpness of a corner or is approaching a tollgate too quickly.
This can also make driving more fuel efficient. This feature is currently in use on the Nissan Eco
series, a line of greener cars released in Japan in April.

Faster route searches

Using probe data (wireless) traffic information from individual vehicles sent to the Carwings
Center, this system supplies information for roads, such as waiting times at intersections and
traffic signals and delivers it to other vehicles in the area. Using this information for route
calculation makes route searches more precise, moves traffic faster, reduces traffic congestion
and promotes greener driving.
ADVANTAGES:-
1. Help reduce pedestrian accidents: Traffic signals place priority on crossing pedestrians

Based on the traffic-volume conditions, the system will calculate to optimize the timing lapse
between crossing pedestrians and the change in traffic-signal. At times, pedestrians tend to
ignore prohibitive red traffic signals at road-crossings when they do not observe any vehicles
within sight, which is a common cause of accidents. The current test program will contribute to
Nissan’s research findings on ways to avoid such accidents.

Fig no.7.School proximity sensors

In principle, when traffic conditions are lighter in the daytime, the pedestrian signal remains on
green while the driver signal is maintained on red. When a vehicle approaches and stops at the
light, the vehicle-system communicates with the traffic light beacon, which then allows the
signal to switch to green. This system emphasizes the safety of the pedestrians by ensuring the
pedestrian has the right-of-way each time.

When a driver slows down accordingly on approaching an intersection, the system again
synchronizes the timing of the green signal with the approaching vehicle to minimize the need
for repeated stops and acceleration, thus improving on-the-road fuel consumption under city-
driving conditions. The test program will also include a virtual school zone*2, which will appear
as a warning alert to speeding vehicles on its on-board navigation display.
2) Help reduce collisions due to traffic-signal oversights: Have traffic-signal alerts on-board
vehicles

Fig no.08.fig shows graphically alert for other vehicle

The traffic-signal alert system automatically appears on the navigation display as a vehicle enters
within a specified distance to an approaching traffic light. This alert system is already being
tested on public roads under the ITS project in Kanagawa. To help minimize accidents due to
traffic-signal oversights,

2) Reduce congestion caused by red traffic signals and right-turn queues


Fig no.09.right turn signal and vehicle detector

Traffic congestion is often caused by red traffic signals and vehicles queuing to take a right turn
from one lane streets. Nissan is developing its ITS system to optimize the timing intervals
between changing traffic signals to correspond with real-time traffic volume and flow in order to
ease traffic congestion. The advanced system is able to detect and respond to right-turning
vehicles, thus reducing the queuing time and improve traffic flow at intersections. Current
research is moving forward on methods to synchronize groups of traffic signals to facilitate
smooth traffic flow over a wider scope of traffic conditions.

This next phase of Nissan’s ITS research aims to optimize communication between vehicles and
traffic signals to create an advanced traffic system where traffic signals operate in tandem with
the vehicle-data input according to varying traffic conditions. Nissan hopes to help reduce traffic
accidents and road congestion. Looking ahead, the company will continue working closely with
the relevant government agencies in bringing the current experiment onto public roads under the
existing ITS project in Kanagawa.

Under the Nissan Green Program 2010, announced in December 2006, Nissan is working to
develop new technologies to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from its vehicle line-up and global
operating facilities. The ITS project in Kanagawa contributes to the NGP 2010 objectives by
reducing traffic congestion and vehicle CO2 emissions through improved on-the-road fuel
consumption.
APPLICATIONS:-

Electronic toll collection:-Electronic toll collection (ETC) makes it possible for vehicles to
drive through toll gates at traffic speed, reducing congestion at toll plazas and automating toll
collection. Originally ETC systems were used to automate toll collection, but more recent
innovations have used ETC to enforce congestion pricing through cordon zones in city centers
and ETC lanes.

Until recent years, most ETC systems were based on using radio devices in vehicles that would
use proprietary protocols to identify a vehicle as it passed under a gantry over the roadway. More
recently there has been a move to standardize ETC protocols around the Dedicated Short Range
Communications protocol that has been promoted for vehicle safety by the Intelligent
Transportation Society of America, ERTICO and ITS Japan.

While communication frequencies and standards do differ around the world, there has been a
broad push toward vehicle infrastructure integration around the 5.9 GHz frequency (802.11.x
WAVE).

Via its National Electronic Tolling Committee representing all jurisdictions and toll road
operators, ITS Australia also facilitated interoperability of toll tags in Australia for the multi-lane
free flow tolls roads.

Other systems that have been used include barcode stickers, license plate recognition, infrared
communication systems, and Radio Frequency Identification Tags.

Emergency vehicle notification systems:-The in-vehicle eCall is an emergency call


generated either manually by the vehicle occupants or automatically via activation of in-vehicle
sensors after an accident. When activated, the in-vehicle eCall device will establish an
emergency call carrying both voice and data directly to the nearest emergency point (normally
the nearest E1-1-2 Public-safety answering point, PSAP). The voice call enables the vehicle
occupant to communicate with the trained eCall operator. At the same time, a minimum set of
data will be sent to the eCall operator receiving the voice call.

The minimum set of data contains information about the incident, including time, precise
location, the direction the vehicle was traveling, and vehicle identification. The pan-European
eCall aims to be operative for all new type-approved vehicles as a standard option. Depending on
the manufacturer of the eCall system, it could be mobile phone based (Bluetooth connection to
an in-vehicle interface), an integrated eCall device, or a functionality of a broader system like
navigation, Telematics device, or tolling device. eCall is expected to be offered, at earliest, by
the end of 2010, pending standardization by the European Telecommunications Standards
Institute and commitment from large EU member states such as France and the United Kingdom.
Automatic road enforcement

A traffic enforcement camera system, consisting of a camera and a vehicle-monitoring device, is


used to detect and identify vehicles disobeying a speed limit or some other road legal
requirement and automatically ticket offenders based on the license plate number. Traffic tickets
are sent by mail. Applications include:

 Speed cameras that identify vehicles traveling over the legal speed limit. Many such
devices use radar to detect a vehicle's speed or electromagnetic loops buried in each lane
of the road.
 Red light cameras that detect vehicles that cross a stop line or designated stopping place
while a red traffic light is showing.
 Bus lane cameras that identify vehicles traveling in lanes reserved for buses. In some
jurisdictions, bus lanes can also be used by taxis or vehicles engaged in car pooling.
 Level crossing cameras that identify vehicles crossing railways at grade illegally.
 Double white line cameras that identify vehicles crossing these lines.
 High-occupancy vehicle lane cameras for that identify vehicles violating HOV
requirements.
 Turn cameras at intersections where specific turns are prohibited on red. This type of
camera is mostly used in cities or heavy populated areas.

Collision avoidance systems

Japan has installed sensors on its highways to notify motorists that a car is stalled ahead.

Dynamic Traffic Light Sequence

Intelligent RFID traffic control has been developed for dynamic traffic light sequence. It has
circumvented or avoided the problems that usually arise with systems such as those, which use
image processing and beam interruption techniques. RFID technology with appropriate
algorithm and data base were applied to a multi vehicle, multi lane and multi road junction area
to provide an efficient time management scheme. A dynamic time schedule was worked out for
the passage of each column. The simulation has shown that, the dynamic sequence algorithm has
the ability to intelligently adjust itself even with the presence of some extreme cases. The real
time operation of the system able to emulate the judgment of a traffic policeman on duty, by
considering the number of vehicles in each column and the routing proprieties.
CONCLUSION:-
Automated Highway System’s did not replace people; they just allowed another market
to evolve. Remember that we designed the Automated Highway System’s to solve the problem
of Traffic congestion.

Hence we see that the automated highway system is very helpful in traffic,
on right turns, on congested roads, for commercial vehicle, for lonely road transport by helping
the driver and reducing chances of accident helping users a better driving.
FUTURE SCOPE:-
From discussions with experts around the world, a first-generation of vehicle-highway
automation is coming into focus, in which automated vehicles operate on today's roads with no
extensive infrastructure modifications required. Early co-pilot systems would evolve to auto-
pilots gradually. These vehicles would operate at spacing’s a bit tighter than commuter flows of
today, with traffic flow benefits achieved through vehicle-cooperative systems as well as
vehicle-infrastructure cooperation.

The vehicles may cluster in 'designated lanes' which are also open to normal vehicles, or may be
allowed on high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to increase their proximity to one another and
therefore get the benefits of cooperative operations (access to HOV lanes also creates a powerful
incentive for consumers to invest in these systems). Stabilization of traffic flow and modest
increases in capacity are seen as the key outcomes.

Once this level of functionality is proven and in broad use, a second generation scenario comes
into play which expands to dedicated lanes, presumably desired by a user population with a high
percentage of automation-capable vehicles. With growing use, networks of automated vehicle
lanes would develop, offering the high levels of per-lane capacity achievable through close-
headway operations.

Now, depending on who you talk to, this type of evolution could take a while. First generation
vehicle-highway automation for passenger cars is at least 10 years away, with estimates for
second generation implementation hovering around 2025. Although many years away, this time
horizon is definitely not too far out for transportation planners to consider the advent of such
capability in their long-range planning processes. But if you have the inclination, a vehicle with
automated capability could be available from a car dealer near you much sooner.

Semi-automated bus systems are now being developed for Eindhoven in the Netherlands and the
French cities of Clermont-Ferrand and Rouen. In the states, automatic guidance is a key
component of the Bus Rapid Transit concept being advanced by the Federal Transit
Administration. Over a dozen US transit agencies are involved in the BRT Consortium, and
several are actively considering automated guidance for precision docking (to improve efficiency
in passenger loading) and exclusive lane operation in narrow, confined corridors.
Implementation of automated guidance is underway in Las Vegas and is expected to begin soon
in Eugene, Oregon, Hartford, Conn. and Cleveland, Ohio

Another pioneer in automated public transport is Toyota, which has developed the Integrated
Multimodal Transport System (IMTS). Demonstrated at Demo 2000 last December in Japan, the
IMTS uses AHS technology to operate several buses in close-headway platoons, all under
automated control. The system is slated to begin service this year, serving transit needs at a
major theme park in Japan.

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