Platoon: GPS-based road trains set to test on European roads?
GPS-based road train – Click above for gallery
It goes by the name "Sartre," but it has nothing to do with existentialism and just a little bit to do with exits. The Safe Road Trains for the Environment program is a three-year European study centering on the creation of 'platoons' of drivers behind a lead vehicle on the highway. It involves wiring cars to speak to each other, and to a lead vehicle – the platoon commander – behind which up to eight cars could follow in automated bliss.
One of the keys to the study is finding a way to make travel more efficient and lower gas usage without spending the treasury on putting sensors in roads, or creating an entirely new standard of equipment. Also, using a lead vehicle that could take control of the vehicles behind – cars, trucks or buses – makes Sartre much more flexible since it can travel on any highway.
So say you need to get to the Alhambra in a hurry. You see a Sartre platoon on the highway ahead, and if there's room, you signal your wish to join. The lead vehicle takes control of your car, and it is pulled into the formation, leaving you free to do whatever you want to do. When you want to get out, you signal your intention, a gap is made and you get control of your car again. The study will be conducted on test tracks in Spain, Sweden and the UK, with additional trials on public road in Spain. Gentlemen, mount up... Hat tip to Ben!
Gallery: "Sartre" GPS-based road trains
[Source: BBC]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
MeiSooHaityu 4:40PM (11/13/2009)
Sounds like the game Lemmings, but with cars :D
Sounds cool until the person driving the lead vehicle falls asleep on a twisty mountain road :) Just like when your parents said, if a person leaps off a bridge, would you follow....well if you were in a Sartre convoy.....yes.
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mk15 4:48PM (11/13/2009)
I agree, sounds cool but being so close at highway speeds and one error and instant accordions. But it would be a boon for those who love or hate driving. Those who hate driving.. or even those inattentive drivers, let them join a platoon. Might actually make the roads safer. The rest of us who enjoy driving, it's business as usual.
John H. 5:05PM (11/13/2009)
All good until somebody blows a tire.
Or some moron cuts in front of the lead car.
Or any of a host of other minor accidents that wouldn't otherwise matter.
2001 altima aka Jessica 12:12AM (11/14/2009)
there is always goods and bads. But if this works out, it would be a great leap in to the future technology. I just hope that this does not lead to self driving cars. than AB would have any articles about a Bugatti Veyron taking a swim.
Swede 4:43PM (11/13/2009)
Sweet!
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LaserRed38 4:44PM (11/13/2009)
I feel like the carpool lane was supposed to be similar to this idea...but it didn't work out that way. Interesting.
Actually, when I'm low on gas, I get up close behind a big rig and draft with him. Does this have any effect on my mileage? I don't know, but I like to think so :P
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Shadyman 5:01PM (11/13/2009)
Yes, it does. Mythbusters say so. Semi-trucks have been drafting each other for years and usually travel in convoys much like this one. The only difference being that truckers usually take turns leading.
With computer controls, the convoy could be fairly close together, making for a nice fuel savings :)
Andrew T 6:12PM (11/13/2009)
Here are my very poor and unscientific test results
Car- 2004 Acura TL New EPA rating 18/26 Old EPA 20/28
100 mile drive, 70mph drafting Semi : 40mpg
270 mile drive, 65mph no drafting: 35mpg
270 mile drive, 65-70mph no to mild drafting of cars/semis: 34mpg
270 mile drive, 70mph no drafting: 31mpg
twg 4:44PM (11/13/2009)
Get that d@mn truck out of the left lane...
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Chubaka 9:06PM (11/13/2009)
Aren't the driving directions reversed in Europe? If so, then the truck is in the correct lane.
Andrew 4:44AM (11/14/2009)
@Chubaka
Wow, you really don't know much about the world. Europe drives on the same side as you Americans, with the exception of those crazy Brits.
Franz 4:46PM (11/13/2009)
There's definitely potential, but technology such as this will keep scaring the crap out of regular Joes like us for a long time. It'll be quite a while before the average driver is comfortable handing over control of their vehicle to any automated system. I get the feeling that most people will never warm up to it, but just like the million other things that have become more prevalent or standard in automobiles in the last few decades, we'll probably get it crammed down our throats eventually, whether we like it or not.
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Tagbert 11:58PM (11/13/2009)
You are not handing control over to an automated system. The driver is human.
Derek 10:32AM (11/14/2009)
Tagbert: you clearly need to re-read the article. "The lead vehicle takes control of your car, and it is pulled into the formation, leaving you free to do whatever you want to do."
Me not likey. Guess I'm just a control freak or something?
Ross 4:53PM (11/13/2009)
As Sartre said, "Hell is other people." Especially when they're on your tail.
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paul34 4:54PM (11/13/2009)
It only takes one Susie Soccer Mom merging into the "train" to cause a huge pile up wreck. To me, automation has to happen either at an extremely high percentage (>99%) or at an extremely small percentage. Otherwise, one variable screws up the entire system - the human.
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Shadyman 5:03PM (11/13/2009)
From the description, the merging happens by computer.
bhtooefr 5:12PM (11/13/2009)
Shadyman: You miss the point.
His comment was regarding some idiot soccer mom merging into the road train on her own, not under computer control, throwing off all the computers.
Raghu 7:07PM (11/13/2009)
Ban those soccer moms... or have super-license lanes where only people who pass a *Real* driving test are allowed to drive.
xor.be 4:55PM (11/13/2009)
This will be sounding very selfish.
But, this is an excellent idea .. excellent, but I don't want it on my roads :p
they will probably drive somewhat slower then the maximum speed
they will also probably drive on the left lane
makes perfect sense
but in the end you have a slow moving colony of automatic cars driving on the left lane ..
and i never pass on the right :p
or .. i can haz be the lead car ? :-D
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