What do you get when you flux intimate , well-off , reliablecruise controlwith lane help ( a general term for a host of newfangled - ish features that automatically serve your car keep an idealistic lane position ) ? What about the tiny bumper - mounted cameras that help you park ? They might be priceless when you ’re squeezing into the last spot at the curb , but they take it easy the rest of the prison term , sitting idle while your car is doing heavy - duty . Might as well give ‘em another chore so they can really gain their keep . We ca n’t even pinpoint all the other cameras and sensors that your car might or might not have – each auto manufacturer has its own options and intended function . And then there ’s robotlike braking technology – after all , if the car knows it has to slow up down or stop , and it can , why should n’t it ?
All of these features already survive in some form or another – for the past few poser yr , anyway . In some cases , like in the instance of cruise ascendence , some of these features have been around for ages – with veritable improvements , of course of action . And as car buyers become more accustomed to super - safe , cocoon - like vehicle , safety feature that were once regard bounty choice are becoming more and more coarse received item . Although each auto manufacturer gives unlike names to its suite of condom applied science and gadgetry , most of these system crop essentially the same and offer the same benefits .
By taking a long , hard facial expression at older and new automotive rubber tools , automakershave happen ways to conflate them for novel safety features ( which , of class , opens the door for fresh marketing opportunities ) . The latest is call " traffic jam assistance , " using anti - collision , anti - bump and anti - scrape tools to help oneself your car glide smoothly along in the most annoying of road conditions . Traffic jam assistance is expected to be uncommitted on novel Volvo cars in 2014 . So , over the next couple of years , your commute just might get a lot more well-to-do … all in the name of safety .
Everything Is Under Control … but How?
The ennui and monotony of drive in heavytrafficis about to get … well , even more slow and monotonous . However , Volvo is bet that a pot of driver will be relieved to have a reprieve from the stress of changeless acceleration and braking , and may even find some other ways to make use of the time .
But can a car really assist with dealings kettle of fish ? It would be awesome , but alas , we are n’t quite there yet . What this system does is help drivers grapple with the frustrations and misdirection of being bond in a traffic jam . It ’s likecruise control , except it ’s designed specifically to work in hard dealings instead of on an candid route . It ’s limited to apply at ho-hum speeds – in fact , it ’s intended for travel at 31 miles per hr ( 49.9 kilometers per hour ) or less .
Like a flock of self-propelled innovations , this one came out of something else . As we ’ve mentioned , it ’s a raw next - whole step from advanced cruise control technology . It ’s a follow - up of sorts to Volvo’sAdaptive Cruise Controlsystem , which uses a combination of a cameras and radar to wield a safe , jell distance behind the car in front ( a direct but discrete evolution of the decades - old standard sail control , which just maintains a steady velocity and relies on the driver ’s judgment to avoid obstacles ) , andLane Keeping Aid , which expend a internet of cameras and detector to keep the automobile centered within its lane . Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping assistance are both fairly young , 2012 model year debut , and it ’s absolved Volvo is looking for ways to twitch the most mileage out of the applied science . In fact , sources indicate that Volvo probably had a more comprehensive suite of features in brain all along . The finish , company execs have said , is to make driving more relaxed [ generator : Volvo ] .
So , if you and your fresh Volvo get hold yourself in such a jam , you ’ll be ready . Your car will supervise the vehicle in front of you , and pace it to automatically maintain a steady follow distance . It ’ll also steer to stay within the lane . If the automobile in front swerves to nullify an obstacle , your car can mimic the same veering itinerary by abide by the tyre treads . on the whole , the traffic jam assistance system highjack theengine , guidance and brakes . So by pressing the release , the machine driver entrusts the car to make the most important judgment calls of heavy - traffic driving : steering , deciding when to accelerate , and decelerate and determining how much of a distance cushion to maintain around other vehicle and obstacles .
Similar systems are in development by Audi , VW , Cadillac , Mercedes and Ford , and all are projected to debut on selected models within the next two old age . So far , it seems like most will operate on in a comparable way , as they ’re also designed to allow entirely hand - free operation in these low - speed scenario . Owners of Mercedes outfit with dealings jam aid system have few choice to kick the bucket the clock time , though – these drivers have to observe contact with the guidance wheel for the system to work . If a number one wood pulls his or her bridge player off the steering wheel , the system wo n’t wage . The Ford variation of the system , which is similar to Volvo ’s , has a different plan in stead . It use audio warnings to alert the driver to take back controller if the car determines there ’s too much nearby activity , such as frequent changes in side by side lanes , wads of obstacle , or erratic and therefore unpredictable speeds of travel .
Traffic electronic jamming assistance represents a significant investment in development and research . Prototypes were tested with consumers for more than a year and evolved to meet client demand . The traffic jam assistance system seems to be framed like a safety twist that has potential to reduce cowcatcher - curve ball type clank in heavy drive – Volvo , after all , is acknowledge for hail up with the latest and greatest automotive safety solutions . Volvo freely admits , though , that growth of the dealings jam assist organisation was motivate by client need – in other actor’s line , it ’s as much of a sumptuousness feature as it is a safety one . It just happen to be consist of safety - based engineering science . But there ’s more – the name of the system , combined with its capabilities , seems to imply that it could perhaps reduce dealings jams by attack the problem , rather than the symptoms . And if that ’s at all potential , Volvo is probably right on top of it .
Trust the Car, Not Your Instincts
Volvo , eager to determine if the traffic fix assistance organisation had more far-flung potential , run a few tryout to see if it in reality could alleviate dealings jam .
The SARTRE ( Safe Road Trains for the Environment ) labor sounds like it was research the safety of the crack - long semitrailer truck that are known as " route trains " in some field ( namely Australia ) . But in Volvo - speak , a route railroad train is a pre - co-ordinated stream of cars that use advanced cruise control - type technologies to follow each other in a design itinerary of travel , with established safe following distance between each vehicle . A touch screen lets the number one wood input control , such as join or exiting the route gearing , or communicating with other fomite in the road train , but beyond that , the driver of each individual cable car in the road railroad train is largely relieved of the burden of driving .
The technology used in the SARTRE program , interchangeable to the suite of instrument that make up traffic jamming assist , was already in the car used for the test – it was composed of other safety features that have ( in compare ) stand the test of time , like adaptive cruise control , blind situation monitoring and park assist . Since the car ' onboard diagnostics are so sensitive and precise , Volvo says that , at times , the road wagon train traveled safely with less than 13 feet ( 3.9 cadence ) from bumper to bumper .
Volvo watch this engineering science as a plausible choice to public transportation , ply a combination of an individual ’s own comfortableness with automated traveling . It also extend restrained get-up-and-go savings over veritable drive , and takes up less space on the route than the same numeral of vehicles would occupy if each were get severally . However , it ’s not as simple as just joining a line of cars that happens to be head in the same focusing . The road train must be scheduled and coordinated out front of time , and lead by a professional number one wood . There are too many questions that need to be answer , such as how well a road train can grapple with an unforeseen route calamity . And , so far , all of Volvo ’s tests have been rivet on potentiality for the European market – whether or not this will fly in the United States is completely unknown .
There are reasons other than the home - court advantage that convinced Volvo to test in Europe . From an car maker ’s perspective , the United States ' safety regulations are an infrangible messiness [ beginning : Lavrinc ] . In plus to the nationwide Union ordinance , a handful of states have their own standards and restrictions that go above and beyond the national bench mark , which must be meet for every car sold within that state . It ’s really difficult for carmaker to developnew technologywhen these standards are forever changing . Sometimes , it ’s nearly impossible for a new innovation to meet the most restrictive demand of a specific market – even if it passes muster almost anywhere else . Europe , however , is a batch easier for a European automaker to navigate . In other words , Volvo needed to check its tools forge as intended before custom - calibrating them became part of the architectural plan .
If this seems like it ’s going somewhere else , it is . Volvo ’s ultimate objective is autonomous drive – a car that can move with minimal input signal from the driver . The auto manufacturer articulate subject field show that about one-half of all driver would be comfortable in aself - driving carand part of the get-up-and-go for autonomous driving engineering comes from an increase in possible distractions – namely , texting [ source : Volvo ] . Widespread use of this technology could potentially cut down on chance event . Volvo is spry to point out that this should n’t be a reliever for the driver ’s judgement – any stimulant from the driver ’s controls will override the automatic motions . ( That ’s assuming , of form , that the driver is still alive . )
The progress that ’s been made in just the last few years eclipse the late several decades , and at fourth dimension , it seems like automakers are closer to their goals than they lease on . But it ’s authoritative to mention that it ’s all happening gradually , at a assure and calculated pace . It helps everyone – consumers and governing safety regulators – aline to the change lento , so they do n’t become overpowering or dangerous , which would threaten long - term acceptance and future development . If we went from something as round-eyed as cruise control to fully - ego - repel cars , without a unfluctuating flurry of young tech rollouts in between , people would in all likelihood be terrify and unwilling to give it a try . But by the time traffic jam assistance roll up out in 2014 , consumers should be pretty well prepared .
Lots More Information
When I come out search this assignment , I assumed a feature called " dealings jamming help " would do something a little unlike , like help cut down on the occurrence of dealings electronic jamming . I ’m not really certain how that would play , though , and that was even before I line up out I ’d be write about a proprietary Volvo engineering . But if it did work – if a automobile ’s various cameras and sensor and trackers could work in concordance to help all traffic current more smoothly – well , that would be moderately great . I ’m one of the semi - self - righteous types who think that commuter train , especially in enceinte urban areas , should make more of an effort to use public transportation . That said , I understand that capability is not the only broker in a traffic jam . A few sloppy drivers , or a little precipitation , can totally screw up what would otherwise be a smooth traffic flow rate . Chicago , where I go , is considering go through pay - to - play congestion - free lanes during peak travel fourth dimension , and news reports claim a lot of commuter train would be unforced to cough up the hard cash to use the special lanes . Seems like this problem would be best solved by a combination of approaches .
I have n’t betray for a novel car for years , so I tend to come down behind on new auto condom innovation – unless I ’m writing about them . When I find out that dealings jam assist was n’t what I assumed , I was a little surprised . Then I find out that Volvo was indeed work on pushing the technology to its limits , and was kind of surprised again . It ’s interesting that Volvo ’s SARTRE ( Safe Road Trains for the Environment ) undertaking is much close to what I ’d think of as " traffic jam assist , " but it ’s also a mess further aside from plausibleness . The technology is similar , but the safe worry increase when multiple vehicles are involved . A malfunction in a route train could back up traffic for miles .
