Volvo has tested a road train consisting of three cars and a truck driving in convoy automatically behind a lead vehicle.
A lead vehicle driven by a professional driver headed the convoy which was comprised of a truck, a Volvo S60, a V60 and an XC60. Cameras, radars and laser sensors monitored the lead vehicle, allowing the following traffic to 'mimic' the driver's actions and accelerate, brake and turn in the same way as the lead driver.
The project's aims are twofold -- to improve road safety and to increase driver comfort. Indeed, the SARTRE system allows the drivers of the automatic vehicles to sit back and relax without having to do anything to keep the car on the road. The system should also help the environment by cutting CO2 emissions and reducing traffic jams.
Apparently, it doesn't take much effort to get used to travelling at 50mph in a car which drives itself and, obviously, the benefits of the road train are numerous.
Of course, we've seen systems which mimic the behaviour of the car in front fitted to production vehicles for quite some time. However, never before has totally automatic driving seemed so realistically achievable.
The benefits of such a system on motorways are undeniable but would you welcome totally automatic driving on all roads or do you enjoy the sensation of driving a car yourself? Let us know what you think below.
Click on the image below to see a video of how the SARTRE road train works:
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