The EU has discovered a way that we could possibly address 3 cornerstones of transportation issues which are; effects on our environment, safety and congestion.
Platooning may be the new way of travelling on motorways in as little as ten year’s time. Vehicle platooning, as envisaged by the SARTRE project, is a convoy of vehicles where a professional driver in a lead vehicle drives a line of other vehicles. Each car measures the distance, speed and direction and adjusts to the car in front. All vehicles are totally detached and can leave the procession at any time. But once in the platoon, drivers can relax and do other things while the platoon proceeds towards its long haul destination. (Source: www.sartre-project.eu).
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| A demonstration of how vehicle platooning works. |
The idea is to develop a vehicle train (platoon) with vehicles being ‘led’ by a leading driver at the head of the ‘train’. Cars can join the train (platoon) and will automatically be able to follow with no input needed whatsoever from the drivers of the following vehicles. This means that drivers will not have to touch the pedals, the steering wheel and will not have to operate the car at all until they reach their destination and then they can simply disjoin from the platoon / train and drive off. The EU believes that this will cut emissions from up to 20%, it will reduce car accidents and it will also reduce congestion on the roads. You can watch a video of this mesmerising idea on the SATRE Project website in the Press Release section, click here.
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| First tests in real life at Hällered test truck outside Göteborg, December 2010. Volvo S60. |
The design of this vehicle platoon means that drivers can eat, drink, watch TV/movies, talk on the phone or even sleep until they arrive at their destination!
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| Reading the paper and drinking coffee at the first SARTRE Project testing in Sweden. |
“This is a major milestone for this important European research programme,” says Tom Robinson, SARTRE Project Coordinator, Ricardo UK LTD, "Platooning offers the prospect of improved road safety, better road space utilization, improved driver comfort on long journeys and reduced fuel consumption and hence CO2 emissions. With the combined skills of its participating companies, SARTRE is making tangible progress towards the realization of safe and effective road train technology".
The SARTRE Project (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) has been developed by the following partners: SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Ricardo PLC (UK), The Robotiker-Tecnalia Technology Centre, Volvo Technology Corporation, The Institut für Kraftfahrzeuge of the RWTH Aachen University (ika), APPLUS + IBIADA (Spain) and the Volvo Car Corporation.
To read more about the SARTRE Project, visit the website: http://www.sartre-project.eu/
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