Intelligent vehicles able to communicate with each other and the highways they travel could make driving safer and less stressful for those behind the wheel.
Amir Khajepour’s ideal trip from A to B goes something like this: Drivers in electric cars get on the road feeling relaxed, and leave the road feeling relaxed.
No gritted teeth or finger-flipping. No dented fenders, bruised egos or missed exits. Certainly fewer lives lost.
The key, he says, is intelligence, and not just the kind that rests in the human mind.
“We have to look not at only cars, but the overall system,” says, Canada Research Chair in Mechatronic Vehicle Systems in the Faculty of Engineering. “We not only have to look at improving vehicles but the intelligence that goes into cars, highways, signs, and the electricity grid.’’
Khajepour and 25 other researchers bring a wide range of expertise to Green Intelligent Transportation Systems, a $24-million project based at the University of Waterloo. Through mechatronics, mechanical, electrical, information technology, chemical, transportation, and other disciplines and industry partnerships, they see a cleaner, smarter future for driving.
Electric cars might, for example, run on four motors – one on each wheel – for better traction, stability, and energy efficiency. Batteries need to have a better energy density with more accurate sensors to measure their charging level. Green ITS is looking into these.
No extension cords
As roads take on more electric and hybrid cars, policy-makers will have to think about where to place charging stations, how to bill for electric fill-ups and whether the current power grid can handle the demand on the road, not to mention at home. All of those issues have a place at Green ITS.
But even as cars get better and batteries take them farther, they will still cause traffic jams.
“The only way to have more cars on the highway is to increase the speed and reduce the distances between cars without compromising safety,’’ Khajepour says.
“Collaborative driving” holds the key. Along intelligent highways, cars will pace themselves according to information received from vehicles around them, the road beneath them and signs and signals ahead. The driver may or may not be part of this constant electronic conversation.
Sticker shock? Now-common ABS brakes and traction control systems were once pricey options limited to premium models, Khajepour says. The added safety benefits of collaborative driving might compel governments and insurers to throw in incentives.
“I’m not worried the technology will go down the drain because of cost. I really believe time will solve this.’’
