Overview of platooning systems

This paper presents an overview of current projects that deal with vehicle platooning. The platooning concept can be defined as a collection of vehicles that travel close together, actively coordinated in formation. Some expected advantages of platooning include increased fuel and traffic efficiency, safety and driver comfort. There are many variations of the details of the concept such as: the goals of platooning, how it is implemented, mix of vehicles, the requirements on infrastructure, what is automated (longitudinal and lateral control) and to what level. The following projects are presented: SARTRE a European platooning project; PATH a California traffic automation program that includes platooning; GCDC a cooperative driving initiative, and; Energy ITS a Japanese truck platooning project

Experimental Study under Real-World Conditions to Develop Fault Detection for Automated Vehicles

Abstract Automated vehicles can contribute to the improvement of transportation through their high capacity, increased safety, low emission and high efficiency. However, unstable conditions of automated mobile systems, which include automated vehicles and mobile robots) can cause serious problems, andthus, automated mobile system requiresto be highly reliable. The objective of this research is to develop on analgorith mfor detection faults (unstable condition) in an automated mobile system and to improve the overall reliability of this system. In this study, we in itially stored and updated a few patterns of data constellations under normal and unstable conditions for fault identification through real-world experiments. Multiple experiments were performed in a public urban area (with course distance per set beingapproximately1.1[km]), where several pedestrians, bicycles, and other robots were also present. The method used for detecting faults utilizes Mahalanobis distance, correlat ion coefficient, and linearization in order to enhance the accuracy of detecting faults;further, because real-world experimental conditions vary frequently,it is essential for the proposed method to be robust undervarious conditions. The ma in feature of this study is that it involves the use of experimental results obtained under real-world conditions, to develop a fault detection algorithm and evaluate its validity. In addition, simu lations were performed using the real-world experimental data, wh ich includes newly logged experimental data after the algorithm was developed in order to evaluate the validity of the proposed algorithm. The simulat ion results show that the proposed algorithm detects faults accurately, thus, they prove its validity

TRENDS AND ISSUES IN SAFE DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS

In recent years, ITS projects in Japan, Europe and the US have been characterized by a strong emphasis on safe driver assistance systems designed to prevent traffic accidents. As it has become clear that eradicating accidents will be impossible by means of vehicle passive safety and single-vehicle active safety efforts alone, research and development of systems for preventing accidents through road-vehicle cooperation and vehicle-vehicle cooperation have been promoted in Japan (ASV, AHS), Europe (PReVENT, SAFESPOT) and the US (VII). The key to such technology is road-to-vehicle communications and inter-vehicle communications. On the other hand, a number of driver assistance systems have been brought to market, including lidar-based forward collision warnings, ACC, lane keeping support and drowsiness warnings, but their penetration rates in Japan are extremely low. Furthermore, one major challenge is that safe driver assistance systems based on road-vehicle and vehicle-vehicle cooperation are premised upon a high penetration rate. Finally, we introduce a system for improving driver acceptance of safe driver assistance systems based on driver monitoring and forward monitoring as well as cooperative driver assistance systems for elderly drivers, an issue now receiving attention in Japan

ISSUES AND RECENT TRENDS IN VEHICLE SAFETY COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

This paper surveys the research on the applications of inter-vehicle communications, the issues of the deployment and technology, and the current status of inter-vehicle communications projects in Europe, the United States and Japan. The inter-vehicle communications, defined here as communications between on-board ITS computers, improve road traffic safety and efficiency by expanding the horizon of the drivers and on-board sensors. One of the earliest studies on inter-vehicle communications began in Japan in the early 1980s. The inter-vehicle communications play an essential role in automated platooning and cooperative driving systems developed since the 1990's by enabling vehicles to obtain data that would be difficult or impossible to measure with on-board sensors. During these years, interest in applications for inter-vehicle communications increased in the EU, the US and Japan, resulting in many national vehicle safety communications projects such as CarTALK2000 in the EU and VSCC in the US. The technological issues include protocol and communications media. Experiments employ various kinds of protocols and typically use infrared, microwave or millimeter wave media. The situation is ready for standardization. The deployment strategy is another issue. To be feasible, deployment should begin with multiple rather than single services that would work even at a low penetration rate of the communication equipment. In addition, non-technological, legal and institutional issues remained unsolved. Although inter-vehicle communications involve many issues, such applications should be promoted because they will lead to safer and more efficient automobile traffic