by Jake Holmes of Motortrend
Honda
is developing a system that it claims could drastically cut down on
traffic congestion. The proposed in-car system would monitor a driver’s
habits and warn if he or she were driving in a way that might cause
traffic backups. The system is being tested later this year and could go
into production soon.
The Honda system essentially works by monitoring how frequently the
driver accelerates and decelerates. Doing so too much might force
following vehicles
to brake or accelerate more often, which can create a “ripple effect”
that causes more traffic congestion. To help reduce jams, Honda’s system
will show the driver a color-coded indication of driving performance.
Unlike other systems that monitor overall traffic patterns or cars ahead, Honda’s technology
determines whether the car will cause problems for following drivers.
By encouraging people to drive more smoothly, Honda says its system has
been proven to increase the average speed of traffic by 23 percent and
reduce fuel consumption by eight percent. Moreover, it could prevent
rear-end crashes caused by vehicles frequently stopping and starting on
crowded roads.
Honda plans to test the technology on public roads in Italy in May,
and in Indonesia in July, and plans to commercialize the system if it’s
successful. The company proudly asserts that this helps it work toward,
“the establishment of a congestion-free mobility society all around the
world.”
The next step for this technology is linking each car
to the cloud. Honda says that by allowing cars to “talk” to each other
on congested roads, the cars could automatically adjust the adaptive
cruise control to promote better traffic flow. This upgrade reportedly
improves average speeds by a further 16 percent and reduces fuel
consumptions another five percent, because the cars can maintain more
constant distances between one another without bunching.
Source;
http://wot.motortrend.com/honda-researching-in-car-system-that-fights-traffic-congestion-198889.html
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