New
Scientist: An automatic driving system—where cars are
linked together into a convoy, or "platoon," and the lead
driver has the control—has just been road-tested in
Sweden, writes Duncan Graham-Rowe for
New Scientist. To join a platoon, a car broadcasts its
destination as it drives onto the freeway and a computer system
tells the driver of any nearby platoons heading that way. Each
car is fitted with a navigation and communication system, which
measures the car's speed and direction, constantly adjusting
them to keep the car within a set distance of the vehicle in
front. Such a system would allow cars to travel more closely
together, thus reducing road congestion, and would reduce fuel
consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
