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TECHNONEWS * USA - Smart Traffic Lights: BMW Pushing For, to Aid Fuel Efficiency
Palo Alto,CA ,USA -The Car Connection, by Bengt Halvorson -November 12th, 2009: -- Creeping along from red light to red light on your way from a major sports event or concert, or stopped by every red light on the way home late at night, on empty roads, you've probably wondered why traffic lights in the U.S. aren't a little more adaptable... The short answer: they're not at all smart, and at least here in the U.S. they're horribly outdated. The typical U.S. traffic signaling system is 30 to 40 years old. And the result of these inflexible geezers signaling traffic is a lot of needless idling and the lack of easy adaptability in most cases to either sudden events like traffic accidents or even daily events like traffic congestion in a certain direction at a particular time... Vehicle miles traveled have grown in recent years 15 percent faster than our country's roadway network itself. And congestion keeps getting worse, leading to increased fuel consumption and increased emissions—plus growing economic consequences... 
(Smart signals to solve traffic snarls)
Developments like start-stop systems, which shut off the engine when sitting still in traffic, along with full hybrid systems that help increase fuel efficiency especially in low-speed stop-and-go traffic can help, but they're only part of the solution. That's why BMW is pushing for upgraded, smart traffic signals that would have the capability to adapt to traffic congestion, whether it's expected or not... Traffic signals have been one of the initial research subjects for the group. In its initial research, the group studied so-called Green Waves—a minimum of four signals in sequence that can eb synchronized for better traffic flow. Simply by changing the timing of traffic lights on a test stretch of roadway in Munich, the engineers were able to nearly double the fuel efficiency of a BMW 530d test vehicle—from 22 mpg to 42 mpg. That being an idealized situation, the company expects an overall 10 to 15 percent decrease in urban fuel consumption due to smart traffic signaling. Considering that motor vehicles use about 175 million gallons of fuel annually, and urban areas make up a significant chunk of miles traveled, that's a tremendous potential improvement... (Photo thecarconnection: Traffic)
* USA - Wireless Vehicle Communication at Heart of US DOT IntelliDrive Program
Washington,DC,USA -MSNBC/Automotive Digest (UK) - November 11, 2009: -- Wireless communications will become car's "heartbeat" within 5 years. The technology will enable self-steering cars... Early benefits will be improved safety, better information about traffic and weather conditions... US DOT's IntelliDrive program launched summer 2009. IntelliDrive envisions wireless communications in every new car broadcasting continuously... Information will include speed, location, direction, and systems state anonymously... Collective data will provide real-time traffic and weather information. Driver assist systems could automatically adjust speed to traffic... "The big opportunity here is to use wireless communication to extend the range beyond what the driver or the vehicle can detect." -- Luca Delgrossi, research and development group manager, Mercedes-Benz, North America... (Figure: Wireless connectivity would enable roadway users to receive information to provide 360° situational awareness. In unsafe situations, IntelliDriveSM applications provide alerts and advisories, or take action to help roadway users avoid or mitigate crashes)Labels: technonews
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