Charles Rattray's vision of what the automotive industry will be capable of by the year 2030 is far more feasible that it may seem at first glance. Autonomo, his fully autonomous vehicle concept, certainly looks the part, but should not be dismissed as just another flashy concept car. As car makers worldwide gear up to face the enormous challenges posed by congestion, pollution, and infrastructural deficiencies, Rattray's final year student project offers a glimpse into the world where these challenges are already a thing of the past. Inspired by biomimicry, sustainability, artificial intelligence and information technology in general, the concept draws on technologies that are already being developed in R&D centers around the world.
Autonomous transport is central to the whole idea. Drawing heavily on the principles of swarm robotics, the self-driving autonomos travel in tight clusters that shift their configurations to maintain an uninterrupted flow of traffic while allowing particular vehicles to reach their respective destinations. This so called "platoon mode" allows to vastly reduce energy consumption through reducing the aerodynamic impact on the vehicles further back down the platoon. Thanks to microwave sensors, the spaces between vehicles are reduced to mere 20cm (7.8 inches), as keeping a safe distance from cars ahead is no longer required. Another type of microwave detectors scan the road surface ahead to prime the suspension accordingly and provide a smoother ride.
Needless to say, the whole operation is run by computers. Each drive-by-wire autonomo has an onboard computer that crunches the data received from an array of sensors (e.g. radar, microwave, lidar, optical and infrared sensors) as well as from external feedback systems. This enables monitoring the road 200m (656 feet) in front and behind the vehicle, or a whole platoon of vehicles, regardless of weather conditions. The cars understand their surroundings well enough to anticipate any changes in the road environment and react to them much quicker that even the most experienced humans. Even the acute senses of the homo sapiens are no match to a set of hi-definition cameras coupled with object recognition technologies capable of interpreting human gestures and predicting the path of other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians or any other potentially hazardous objects.
This local level of awareness is augmented by data streamed from a constantly updated centralized database responsible for the real-time balancing of mobility demands across the entire network. Such a database would be controlled by intelligent algorithms that learn from the information that is fed to them. Historical data and the data collected in real time would be used to efficiently match the infrastructure real estate with the changing demands of ever fluctuating traffic.
All this would be achieved without overhauling the existing road infrastructure. Instead of making roads wider to accommodate new lanes, Rattray chose to make his concept car a 1.15m (3.77 feet) wide two-seater. This doubles the throughput of our roads, with two autonomos fitting abreast in a single lane. Maneuverability is additionally improved by a tilting design and by wheels that allow movement in all directions (just like in case of a certain crawler robot we covered recently).
The aerodynamic body shares the length and the the wheelbase of a 2009 Mini Cooper, but - unlike the Mini - it is covered with two transparent photovoltaic layers that harvest electric energy to be stored in ultra-efficient lightweight batteries and passed on to the in-wheel motors. Since the passengers are not busy driving, they can enjoy the views through opaque, one-way vision windows or amuse themselves by playing around with the on-board augmented reality screen. Charging the vehicle through electrodynamic induction or energy transfer lasers is done wirelessly and can be performed on the go, via charging pads embedded in the road surface. Energy can also be shared within a platoon.
Without a doubt, this project exceeds the highest expectations you might have of a student endeavor. In fact, this is one great piece of serious conceptual design that brings to the table something more than eye candy. Speaking of which, head down to see the presentation video and check out the gallery!
I always liked to draft behind a semi-trailer, but unnerved by a potential of a rear-ender.
What about that random deer-bolt ???
Did the designer consider what would happen if a chain of cars only 7 inches apart ran into a child in the road, or a deer? What happens if one of the cars has a blowout? There are a lot of NASCAR clips that illustrate my point. Even with the best technology accidents will happen. Supersonic fighter jets break in half, bombs don\'t explode, satellites smash into moons and planets... I\'m just saying, think of all the problems that come with every solution.
But, I like the effort. It\'s an interesting concept.
Here are a few points that comments seem to have missed.
#1. If you have 4 cars in a line with 20cm in between controlled electronically, if you think about it, the whole chain is equivalent to a bus. Its no more dangerous, in fact safer to have a \"bus\" than can break into 4 parts in a moments notice to avoid an accident than an actual bus that cant. Quite obviously if a deer runs in front of a bus it can stop fine, a 4 car train properly controlled would only be safer as it would have more options.
#2 \"Those that hate to drive\"! seriously who likes driving in rush hour traffic. If you had the choice of getting there twice as fast autonomously would you really still choose to drive? I sure wouldn\'t. Think of it as a much better form of public transport, i.e. a virtual bus that is far better than a replacement for a car. The blowout etc issue is exactly the same for a bus, no less dangerous.
#3. What do you mean by infrastructure? The point is that no infrastructure would be necessary at all. Why would you have to pay someone to take such a car? I would choose it over being stuck in traffic any day. It can be made much more secure than both public transport and private car because it can pick you up from your door, and drop you off where you want.
Electronic sensors will soon be far superior to the human eye. Most types of sensors are able to \"see\" through objects. What this vehicle see\'s will be immediately communicated to all the others. If a child run out onto the road, these vehicles will react much sooner than the average driver and all the vehicles would react instantaneously in coordination. The car would also sense the maintenance level of every critical component in the vehicle, just like a computer would.
The point of the design is not to solve every problem, but to present a vision better than what we have today. This one year project looks at the major problems and the big picture. If there were teams of specialists working on this, I\'m sure we\'d be able to save the child.
Anyone who lives in a city with a decent mass transit system knows the advantages of letting someone else do the driving. I\'d rather take the subway or bus than sit behind the wheel. I can read, play, write, even do some work if I need to. Try that while driving. I can look around through the windows, rather than having to keep eyes glued on the road and the cars ahead of me. An autonomous vehicle would be even better because it would be able to take me door to door rather than me having to wait for a train and remembering to get off at the right station. They would give me even more options, like talking on the phone - something that\'s inconsiderate on the subway even when there is a signal - or even sleeping. Autonomous cars can\'t come soon enough.