Technology makes transportation safer

TALKING tires, systems that warn

I adriverwhen he istooclosetothe vehicle ahead, computers to select the correct tires for a truck fleet, back up and blind side sensors. Science fiction? No, just new high technology transportation.

Story at a Glance

Ground transportation gets safer collision radaravailablesoon tireswith brains, computer programs aid tire selection plus other marvels.

Intelligent Vehicle/Highway Systems (IVHS) is an emerging industry expected to make ground transportation safer and more efficient. Products and technologies from the aerospace world are being applied to vehicles and roads for a new generation of smart transportation.

Advance vehicle control systems will wam drivers of potential dangers to avoid accidents, cut delays and improve safety. Commercial vehicle operation technologies will improve the flow of commercial traffic, minimize delays for weighing and toll collection, and improve monitoring and safety of vehicles. Advance transportation management systems will encompass the overall management of traffi c, much like an air traffic control system.

One IVHS system completing the testing stage and ready to become available is the VORAD System Collision Waming. The vehicular onboard radar has five individual modules capable of providing audible front collision warnings, accident reconstruction from a black box recorder, back up and blind side sensors, adaptive cruise control and interactive slow speed braking. The latter two are for automobiles only.

With a small antenna mounted on the front of a vehicle, a control unit located inside near the driver and a compact electronic processor, the device can see through fog and other hazards to wam of collision danger. A low power signal measures closing rates from I to 200 mph in the FCC certified system.

Manufactured by IVHS Technologies, Inc., San Diego, Ca., the system has been tested by selected commercial truck and auto companies with Allstate Insurance Co. as a collaborator. Vehicle Radar Safety Systems, Mount Clemens, Mi., also is producing a radar warning system due to be available momentarily. Much smaller than the

IVH system, it will cost from $560 to $800. IVHS expects to sell its device for about $l 100 a truck.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. after three years ofresearch is ready to introduce a tire with a "built-in" brain. While the tire will initially give only tire pressure, temperature and mileage, future uses could include warnings about speeding or road conditions.

Similar to technology used by European farmers to trackpigs, the system is based on a computer chip installed in the tire. Due to be available in early 1993, it will probably add no more than $20 to the price of a $300 truck tire, Goodyear predicts.

The company already has truck tire selection software available for an IBM compatible computer. After asking questions, the program recommends the proper tire. Dimensional data to determine size, load and inflation information also is available.