Partner News: Vehicles with eyes, ears and brains

Date: 10 July 2008

Researchers, industry representatives and the general public were invited to learn more about intelligent vehicles at the intelligent vehicle symposium in Eindhoven. More than 400 participants and the press from both The Netherlands and abroad came to see the demonstrations, and to try out the vehicles for themselves. ERTICO Partner TNO had 3 demonstrations on show.

Cars of the future
The TU Eindhoven campus looked as if a group of nomads had set up camp. Next to the Auditorium thirty white tents were set up, together with a special collection of vehicles, the demonstration models of the IEEE Intelligent Vehicle Conference (IV2008). Most of the models do not yet look like ordinary cars - with huge sensors attached to them, power cables, and rear seats covered with laptops and other equipment. These are the first prototypes of a technology that will soon become standard in car technology. TNO’s Bart van Arem, co-organiser of the conference said: 'What is on show here today will be in your car in ten to fifteen years’ time.' That is no empty claim. Ten to fifteen years ago there were demonstrations at the same conference of vehicles that automatically remained in their lane, adaptive cruise control and systems that could see blind spots: this technology is now on the market.

Intelligent vehicles
Intelligent vehicles can observe their environment and respond to it. In order to give cars eyes and ears, they are equipped with sensors: video cameras, laser, radar and lidar - a technology that measures distance to an object using laser pulses. Smart software processes the information and recognises in the recording the road markings, road signs and other cars on the road. Subsequently, the car can respond intelligently, sometimes warning the driver with a buzz that he is too close or even by intervening and automatically carrying out an emergency stop.

Truck roll-over protection
TNO is working on the equipment that will reduce the danger of truck roll-over, an incident which happens a couple of times a week on Dutch roads. Drivers are often unaware in their well-cushioned cab that the trailer is becoming unstable. The TNO truck is equipped with sensors that register the movements of the truck. A computer model then calculates the stability of the truck according to the data it receives without needing to have any further details on the load or type of trailer. The ultimate goal is to give the driver a warning system that indicates how fast he may safely drive. “It is currently separate sensors and a separate computer but that will eventually all be contained in a small box that haulage firms can place on the trailer,” TNO’s Sven Jansen explains.

Series hybrid VW Beetle
Another striking sight on the campus was TNO’s bright yellow VW Beetle. Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende and his Cabinet colleagues Camiel Eurlings and Maria van der Hoeven had driven it in earlier demonstrations. The car was converted five years ago into a series hybrid. It is obvious that this is no standard model: the luggage compartment and the rear seat are stuffed with equipment. The car is a lab on wheels and is used to test various control algorithms in search of the optimum ratio between the electric and the petrol engine.

Virtual reality for real
The third TNO vehicle was charging up its batteries, with a socket next to the petrol flap. On the driver’s seat lies a headset with goggles. The driver wears these when driving. The goggles serve as a display onto which a virtual car on the road ahead can be projected; a bit of virtual reality in a real car. The headset enables TNO to examine the reactions of the driver while driving. For instance, the response time of the driver can be evaluated, when the virtual car comes too close to another object. A virtual display can also be projected for the driver to assess. For the demonstration in Eindhoven the car was equipped with a system that automatically decelerates if the driver approaches the virtual car in front too quickly. TNO is investigating the drivers’ experience of this feature. Jasper Pauwelussen, one of the researchers, says: 'For us the headset is the ideal halfway house between reality and simulation. Many of our experiments cannot be done using real cars. It would be too dangerous. You can, of course, put test subjects in a simulator, but this gets a little closer to reality.'

For more information, please contact Karin Brug at karin.brug@tno.nl