The camera controls only the steering, says Todd M. Jochem, a systems scientist in Carnegie Mellon's robotics department, while a radar mounted in the front controls acceleration. The biggest challenge for the group was integrating the camera and radar systems, especially for executing maneuvers such as changing lanes. In July 1995, the group drove one of its automated cars from Washington, D.C., to San Diego. Except for about 50 miles, it had no problem navigating. Ten of those 50 miles had just been paved, so there were insufficient lane markings, Jochem explains.
Good drivers are able to analyze thousands of different road conditions and react appropriately.
P eople may adjust their driving styles easily to fit whatever road they're on, but automated cars need a little more help. In San Diego, Honda engineers demonstrated how a car could integrate both platooning and free-agent technologies, switching from one to the other depending on the road. In future passenger cars, a computer might be connected to the power steering, he says, which is used now only as assistance, not as control. The consortium members expect that advanced technologies will be introduced into new cars slowly. At first, new features would probably only assist drivers, as in lane-departure warnings, says Delorenzis.