TOWARD MOTORING SMART

It is suggested that intelligent vehicles operating on intelligent highways can make car travel faster and safer in the years ahead when the volume of traffic will be considerably greater than it is now. Inexpensive microelectronics combined with highly advanced technologies in communications, sensing, and controls, together with artificial intelligence, can make the computerizing of real-time flow of vehicles on the roadway feasible i.e., an intelligent vehicle-highway system (IVHS). The driver will remain essentially in control of the car with occasional assists in steering and braking. Ultimately, however the roadway system could go much further, with profound improvements in overall efficiency, by largely shifting control out of human hands. An automated highway would continuously regulate the speed and position of all vehicles on it. Control systems of the kind envisaged will permit safe transportation at up to 150 miles per hour, making cars competitive with air and rail for short intercity trips. Joint public- and private-sector efforts in this field in Japan and Europe are discussed. The first stirrings of such activity in the U.S. are noted. The technical and societal challenges and legal implications of IVHSs are also noted.