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The
dashboard is where information like the
fuel gauge and engine temperature is displayed.
These optical signs are supplemented by
information the driver can feel, such as
an active gas pedal or steering wheel.
"Drivers
can feel the gas pedal being less responsive
than normal and can look at the display
to see why," he said.
To
provide meaningful warnings, the programmes
need to recognise the driver's intentions
and those of other road users. This data
can be gathered through observation or simulation.
The
Institute of Ergonomics is cooperating with
the Institute of Automotive Technology to
conduct tests using truck and car simulators.
They enable the scientists to see when drivers
are tired and their reaction times slow,
or how the test subjects react to distractions
such as those created by children in the
backseat.
The
Institute of Ergonomics is also developing
a pedestrian simulator capable of realistically
portraying the behaviour of those road users
in virtual reality even in dangerous situations,
without putting the test subjects at risk.
To
study the way road users interact, the researchers
linked the simulators. As Prof Bengler explains:
"Pedestrians can be in one lab and
drivers in driving simulators in another.
They can then encounter each other in a
virtual scene and we can watch their reaction
times, where they look and where delays
occur in critical situations."
Fritz
Busch, chairman of traffic engineering and
control at the Technical University of Munich,
is studying probably the most unpredictable
of all road users: the pedal bike cyclist.
Cyclists
move fast and make spontaneous decisions.
For example, they might suddenly move from
the street onto the sidewalk. Cyclists are
also what's known as vulnerable road users,
being especially at risk of injury in the
event of an accident.
Scientists
watch cyclists using cameras installed over
busy intersections. "We're interested
in their tactical behaviour, the decisions
they make in certain situations," said
Prof Busch.
Scientists
are interested in why cyclists exhibit certain
behaviours. When cyclists illegally move
from the bicycle path onto the road, is
it because they see they'll get through
faster that way? "We have now managed
to detect a number of typical behaviours,"
says Prof Busch. All of these go into simulation
models.
The
developers of driver assistance systems
use the models to make specific predictions
as to how cyclists will behave. They can
then check whether their system will react
in a suitable way in dangerous situations.
Then
comes phased traffic lights for trucks.
"We are attempting to set up
a system we're calling platoon management
for trucks," said Prof Busch. The aim
is for the phasing of the traffic lights
to be altered temporarily to try to prevent
convoy of trucks from having to stop at
a red light.
To
do this, the system creates platoons or
convoys. Here's how it works: If the system
detects three trucks, for example, approaching
the traffic lights, it will ideally modify
the lights so that they don't turn red after
the first truck, but let all three through
instead.
The
overall traffic situation is taken into
account as well, the phasing of the lights
will only be altered if it doesn't cause
a disadvantage to the other road users.
Advantages
are that trucks take a lot longer to accelerate
than two cars that together measure the
same length as a truck. The traffic therefore
flows faster.
A
pilot study in Dusseldorf has already enabled
the scientists to demonstrate the technical
feasibility of platoon management. They
are also conducting simulations to assess
the effects on a larger scale.
These
and other projects demonstrate the fact
that new technologies are going to change
road traffic in the future.
However,
do we have to get used to the idea that
cars will soon to be on our roads without
drivers at the wheel?
"It's
not going to be an abrupt change,"
says Prof Busch. "It's more of an evolution
than a revolution. In my opinion, it's going
to be years if not decades before automated
driving will be happening on our roads on
a large scale."
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