Vehicle and Road Automation

Presently in the USA, Europe, Japan, and in other parts of the world, intelligent transportation system (ITS) technologies are being developed and deployed to increase the intelligence of vehicles. The two key benefits of these technologies are enhancement of safety and mobility of the traveling public. The intelligence is provided by electronics, communications systems, software, and human–machine interfaces and is assisting drivers with many aspects of the driving task. Drivers may be warned about potential crashes with other cars, about objects that are hidden from their vantage point, and about excessive speeds. Information about real-time traffic conditions including incidents on a driverʼs preferred route, travel times to specific destinations, and about restaurants, hotels, and other destination points may be provided. In-vehicle navigation systems can tell drivers how to get to a destination on a turn-by-turn basis and may be linked to a central dispatch center to summon help automatically in case of an accident.