“智能车队”新想法能行多远？
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交通：让汽车加入“智能车队”计划，让车流像火车车厢一般行进，已取得了小步成功。但他们面临的不仅仅是技术问题。
说服司机放弃私驾改选公共交通实在是一项艰巨之工作。由此，有没有一项技术可让人们仍呆在车中，但在长途驾驶中脱开人工操控，这项技术的成功面有多大？这是一个欧洲科研项目，目的是找到一种方法，把汽车用无线方式串联起来，实现“半自治”的车行队列，这一项目亦被称为“公路列车”或“智能车队”。
这个主意是通过加入“智能车队”在一个专业领驾的操控下沿高速公路列队前行。其余的驾驶者将能脱开方向盘坐享旅程。就象乘客一样，他们可以看书、看电影、上网、甚至打一个盹。带来的好处是减少拥堵、降低油耗，并在一定程度上降低疲劳驾驶，“智能车队”可能会使道路更为安全。
由欧盟发起的“环保的安全公路列车队”（SARTRE）项目，是由英国里卡多公司统筹协调的，预计耗资640万欧元（约合910万美元），该项目负责人汤姆罗宾森解释说此项目对环保的助益减少了阻力（降低了能耗）。降低的阻力主要源自于降低的空气阻力，这是一级方程式车手和自行车赛车手早已稔熟的伎俩。在一个快速行进的物体后产生一个气流低压区，意味着在此区间行进物体要维持行其速度不变所需付出的能量更小。然而，在高速公路上要紧贴着某辆卡车后行进是极其危险的。但现在有了无线技术的帮助、在计算机的控制下，使二车距离比以往大大降低却是可行的。尾随车辆所遇较低阻力，使油耗亦有可观的降低。
罗宾逊先生说，“智能车队”中的车距将会非常小，其电脑控制系统会回应任何一个突然刹车或其它危险，其反应速度远快于任何一个人类司机，从而避免碰撞。车距降低使道路容车率增加，能减少交通堵塞。
所有这些都需要大量技术支撑。任何有意加入“智能车队”的车辆必须明确其目的地，从而辨识出附近某一合适的车队以加入并沿准确方向前行。然后，车辆跟到“智能车队”后方，此时标准无线系统开始工作（这是专为车间通信所设计的IEEE 802.11p系统），这后方车辆进入伺服状态被领驾车辆所驱动，领驾车辆是由具有相关资质的驾驶员所驾驶的一辆卡车或大巴车。随后，直到它离开车队，后方车辆一直被领驾车辆所控制。
这听起来雄心勃勃，但它已经不仅仅只停留在理论层面。今年早些时候SARTRE项目成员进行了首次路试。它的初衷很简单：由一辆卡车领驾一辆汽车，两车速度约达到50kph（合31英里每小时）。第一轮测试成功后，他们把速度提高到70kph，今年夏天他们还将进行的第一轮多车试验，由三辆汽车和两辆卡车组成。汽车制造商沃尔沃作为SARTRE项目成员之一，沃尔沃的主动安全功能技术总监埃里克寇林格表示，研究组将准备将此项目移出测试跑道。 他说：“今年秋季和冬季，我们将进一步完善控制系统，如果取得成功，我们将用相同的系统做测试，预计于2012年夏季在西班牙的公共道路进行路试。”
“智能车队”并不是一个新点子。在上个世纪90年代的圣地亚哥，一个称为“捷径”的项目进行了小规模的测试，它在高速公路一侧按上微处理器，原理同电磁感应轨道用以引导车辆沿公路行驶。这一想法没有实现，因为它造价实在昂贵。但SARTRET系统有所不同，罗宾逊先生说，它并不需要资金投入进行任何道路基础建设或改造。
此外，除了无线通信系统，SARTRE的工作原理还利用了作动器和传感器，这些早已在许多现代汽车中存在，运用于譬如适应性巡航控制、自动制动、车道偏离系统，相应硬件有雷达、红外线感应器、以及摄相头。寇林格先生说“我们用到传感器和部分控制系统，但加入新的算法和指令。”所以一旦车辆加入到“智能车队”这些系统使车辆串联行驶变得非常容易。但在首驾中的司机必须接受培训，取得许可证并因领驾而得到一定报酬。除了掌好方向盘，他还将考虑到来自交通状态的影响，诸如换车道、转弯等。剩下的部分只通过软件来实现。
寇林格先生坦承该项技术尚不够完备，他们需要精确地计算出实施策略，使车辆安全地加入或离开，哪怕它处于车队中间位置。同样地，当领头车辆到达目的地脱离车队，此时需要另一辆车取而代之，（这些都需要精密计算）。研究人员还必须决定车队车距，使之达到最省油，又保证最安全。
罗宾逊先生及寇林格先生认为“智能车队”的成功并不只是技术层面的问题，而在于驾驶者的真正需求。寇林格相信，驾驶人群对于自动驾驶的接受度正在提高。这还取决于不同的时段，譬如每天上下班高峰时段，人们可能更能接受自动驾驶（脱开方向盘来做一些自己的事）。然而，现今的体制仍要求司机无时无刻地关注并控制其车辆，在很多地方在驾驶过程中接听手机是违反交通法的。因此（为配合“智能车队”的实现），这些相关法规也必须加以调整。罗宾逊先生说，这可能还需要十年左右才能实现。（编译：Kevin）
附原文：
PERSUADING drivers to give up their cars in favour of public transport has always been an uphill struggle. So would a technology that lets drivers remain in their cars， but asks them to relinquish control on long journeys， have any greater chance of success？ That is what a European project is hoping to find out by getting cars to link up wirelessly into semi-autonomous convoys， also known as road trains or “platoons”。
The idea is that by joining platoons as they snake along motorways under the control of a professional lead driver， motorists will be able to sit back and enjoy the ride. As passengers they could catch up on some reading， watch a film， surf the internet or even have a snooze. The benefits would come from reduced congestion and lower fuel consumption. Somewhat counter-intuitively， platooning might also make roads safer.
The environmental benefits come from reducing drag， says Tom Robinson of Ricardo， a British company which is co-ordinating the €6.4m （$9.1m） Safe Road Trains for the Environment （SARTRE） project， funded by the European Commission. The reduced drag is the result of slipstreaming， a trick exploited by Formula One drivers and racing cyclists. The low-pressure area in the slipstream of a moving object means less energy is needed to maintain the same speed just behind it. Trying to do this behind a big lorry on a motorway is extremely dangerous. But with the aid of wireless technology it should be possible for cars to drive much closer together， under computer control， than would normally be advisable. The lower drag they encounter should improve fuel consumption considerably.
The gap between platooning vehicles will be small， but computer-controlled systems would respond to any sudden braking or other hazards far more quickly than a human driver could and thus avoid collisions， says Mr Robinson. The close spacing would allow more cars to fit on the road， reducing congestion.
All this requires a lot of technology. Any car wishing to join a platoon would specify its desired destination， making it possible to identify a nearby platoon heading the right way. The car then pulls up behind the moving platoon and a wireless standard developed specifically for communications between vehicles， called IEEE 802.11p， enables the car to be enslaved by the lead vehicle， probably a lorry or coach with a qualified driver. The car stays under the control of the leader until its driver wishes to leave the platoon.
As ambitious as this sounds， it is more than just theory. Earlier this year the members of the SARTRE project carried out their first road test. The initial goal was modest： to put a single car under the control of a lorry， with both travelling at 50kph （31mph）。 After the success of these first tests the speed was pushed up to 70kph， and this summer the first multiple-vehicle tests will begin with up to three cars and two lorries. The researchers will then be ready to leave the test track， says Erik Coelingh， head of active-safety functions for Volvo， a carmaker that is one of the SARTRE members. “During the autumn and winter we will refine the controls， and if we succeed we would like to test the same system on public roads in Spain during summer 2012，” he says.
Platooning is not a new idea. In the 1990s a project in San Diego called PATH carried out small-scale tests of a system that involved placing induction loops in the road which acted as electromagnetic rails to guide vehicles along the highway. The idea never took off because it was prohibitively expensive. But SARTRE is different， says Mr Robinson， because it does not require any changes to the road infrastructure.
Moreover， aside from the wireless-communication system， SARTRE works by taking advantage of the actuators and sensors that already exist in many modern cars， such as adaptive cruise control， automatic braking and lane-departure systems， which use radar， infra-red sensors and cameras. “We reuse the sensors and part of the control system， but add new algorithms，” says Mr Coelingh. So once a car has joined a platoon these systems make it relatively easy to stay in line. The driver at the front would be trained， licensed and paid to lead. As well as steering， he would have to take account of the platoon’s impact on other traffic when changing lanes or turning. The rest would be taken care of by software.
The technology is not quite there yet， concedes Mr Coelingh. Strategies still need to be precisely worked out to enable vehicles to join or leave safely， even if they are in the middle of the platoon. Similarly， methods will be needed to allow the lead vehicle to dissolve the platoon on reaching its destination or to allow another lead vehicle to take over. The researchers must also determine how closely packed together the cars should be to get the best fuel savings and highest level of safety.
Mr Robinson and Mr Coelingh accept that the success of platoons is more than just a question of whether or not the technology can be made to work. The real question is whether drivers really want it. Driver attitudes towards automation are softening， Mr Coelingh believes. And there are occasions， such as during a daily commute， when motorists might welcome not having to drive. However， drivers are currently required to be in control of their vehicles at all times， and in many places it is illegal to use a mobile phone when at the wheel. So laws will also have to be changed， says Mr Robinson， which could take a decade or so.(来源《经济学人》)
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