SARTRE: 'Road Train' Automobile Convoying Tech Takes a Successful First Test Drive

Technology that links a chain of semi-autonomous vehicles to a lead car has undergone its first trials at a Volvo test track in Sweden. The "road train" system, which allows cars to link into “trains” in which the lead car sets the pace and direction for the cars linked behind it, could be deployed on European roadways by the end of the decade.

The idea is to cut fuel use, cut congestion, and make highways safer by allowing those traveling long distance on highways to link up with other drivers going the same way. Once a driver falls in line behind the lead vehicle and establishes a wireless link, an adaptive cruise control system kicks in to match the leader’s speed while a battery of sensors ensure all vehicles in the train maintain a safe distance from each other.

The following vehicles then follow the leader autonomously, leaving the drivers behind to take their hands off their wheels, pull up Netflix or the newspaper on the iPad, and otherwise take it easy until it’s time to retake control of the vehicle and leave the convoy.



Source: 'Road Train' Automobile Convoying Tech Takes a Successful First Test Drive | Popular Science