LONDON: A road train has successfully completed testing in Spain, marking the first time it has been introduced on a public motorway among other road users.
One lead vehicle and four trailing vehicles – consisting of a Volvo S60 sedan, a V60 wagon and a XC60 sports utility vehicle plus a truck – made up the historic road train travelling at 85kph and gaps between cars at 6m.
“We covered 200km in one day and the test turned out well. We’re really delighted,” says Linda Wahlström, project manager for the SARTRE project at Volvo Car Corporation.
A road train consists of a lead vehicle driven by a professional driver followed by a number of vehicles.
Building on Volvo’s existing safety systems – including features such as cameras, radar and laser sensors – the vehicles monitor the lead vehicle and also other vehicles in their immediate vicinity.
By adding wireless communication, the vehicles in the platoon “mimic” the lead vehicle using Ricardo autonomous control – accelerating, braking and turning in exactly the same way as the leader.
The project aims to deliver improved comfort for drivers, who can now spend their time doing other things while driving. They can work on their laptops, read a book or sit back and enjoy a relaxed lunch.
It also aims to improve traffic safety, reduce environmental impact and – thanks to smooth speed control – cut the risk of traffic tailbacks.
The three-year SARTRE project has been under way since 2009.
All told, the vehicles in the project have covered about 10,000km.
After the test on the public roads in Spain two weeks ago, the project is now entering a new phase with the focus on analysis of fuel consumption.
“We’ve learnt a whole lot during this period. People think that autonomous driving is science fiction, but the fact is that the technology is already here,” says Wahlström.
“From the purely conceptual viewpoint, it works fine and road train will be around in one form or another in the future.”
The SARTRE or Safe Road Trains for the Environment project is a joint venture between Ricardo UK Ltd, Applus+ Idiada, Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Institut für Kraftfahrzeuge Aachen (IKA), SP Technical Research Institute, Volvo Technology and Volvo Car Corporation.