On line estimation of rolling resistance for intelligent tires

The analysis of a rolling tire is a complex problem of nonlinear elasticity. Although in the technical literature some tire models have been presented, the phenomena involved in the tire rolling are far to be completely understood. In particular, small knowledge comes even from experimental direct observation of the rolling tire, in terms of dynamic contact patch, instantaneous dissipation due to rubber-road friction and hysteretic behavior of the tire structure, and instantaneous grip. This paper illustrates in details a new powerful technology that the research group has developed in the context of the project OPTYRE. A new wireless optical system based on Fiber Bragg Grating strain sensors permits a direct observation of the inner tire stress when rolling in real conditions on the road. From this information, following a new suitably developed tire model, it is possible to identify the instant area of the contact patch, the grip conditions as well the instant dissipation, which is the object of the present work

Work domain analysis and intelligent transport systems: Implications for vehicle design

This article presents a Work Domain Analysis (WDA) of the road transport system in Victoria, Australia. A series of driver information requirements and tasks that could potentially be supported through the use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are then extracted from the WDA. The potential use of ITS technologies to circumvent these information gaps and provide additional support to drivers is discussed. It is concluded that driver information requirements are currently not entirely satisfied by contemporary vehicle design and also that there are a number of driving tasks that could be further supported through the provision of supplementary systems within vehicles

Examining the potential of floating car data for dynamic traffic management

Traditional traffic monitoring systems are mostly based on road side equipment (RSE) measuring traffic conditions throughout the day. With more and more GPS-enabled connected devices, floating car data (FCD) has become an interesting source of traffic information, requiring only a fraction of the RSE infrastructure investment. While FCD is commonly used to derive historic travel times on individual roads and to evaluate other traffic data and algorithms, it could also be used in traffic management systems directly. However, as live systems only capture a small percentage of all traffic, its use in live operating systems needs to be examined. Here, the authors investigate the potential of FCD to be used as input data for live automated traffic management systems. The FCD in this study is collected by a live country-wide FCD system in the Netherlands covering 6-8% of all vehicles. The (anonymised) data is first compared to available road side measurements to show the current quality of FCD. It is then used in a dynamic speed management system and compared to the installed system on the studied highway. Results indicate the FCD set-up can approximate the installed system, showing the feasibility of a live system

Strategi pembangunan program homestay Kampung Kangkar Merlimau

Kampung Kangkar Merlimau pernah diwartakan sebagai kawasan Pelancongan Agro sebelum ini oleh Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa Negeri Johor pada tahun 1993 (Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa, 2007). Pembangunan pelancongan tersebut telah mendapat kerjasama dari Jabatan Pertanian untuk membantu komuniti yang terlibat dalam menyediakan perkhidmatan inap desa (homestay). Walau bagaimanapun, pada tahun 2005 Jabatan Pertanian telah menarik diri dari usaha sama tersebut disebabkan pembangunan program homestay yang tidak menggalakkan. Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti tahap kemahiran, pengetahuan, dan penglibatan ketua, di samping mengenal pasti sama ada terdapat perbezaan tahap kemahiran antara komuniti yang menjalani latihan dan tidak menjalani latihan kemahiran, untuk membangunkan program homestay yang lepas di Kampung Kangkar Merlimau. Kaedah persampelan yang digunakan ialah kaedah persampelan bertujuan, iaitu keadaan di mana pengkaji memilih sampel berdasarkan pengalaman dan pengetahuan tentang kumpulan yang akan dikaji sahaja. Jadi dalam kajian yang dijalankan, sampel yang diambil berjumlah 81 orang penduduk yang pernah terlibat dalam program homestay sahaja. Hasil kajian didapati skor min untuk tahap kemahiran,pengetahuan, dan penglibatan ketua adalah 2.99, 3.04, dan 2.76, dan ini menunjukkan bahawa ketiga-tiga tahap tersebut adalah sederhana. Melalui kajian ini juga, didapati terdapat perbezaan signifikan tahap kemahiran komuniti yang menjalani latihan dan tidak menjalani latihan kemahiran, kecuali untuk tahap kemahiran komunikasi didapati tiada perbezaan yang signifikan. Oleh itu, kemahiran dan pengetahuan komuniti serta penglibatan ketua dalam menjayakan program homestay di Kampung Kangkar Merlimau ini perlu dipertingkatkan lagi