The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, programmed a small fleet of miniature robotic cars to drive on a multi-lane track and observed how the traffic flow changed when one of the cars stopped.
When the cars were not driving cooperatively, any cars behind the stopped car had to stop or slow down and wait for a gap in the traffic, as would typically happen on a real road. A queue quickly formed behind the stopped car and overall traffic flow was slowed.
However, when the cars were communicating with each other and driving cooperatively, as soon as one car stopped in the inner lane, it sent a signal to all the other cars. Cars in the outer lane that were in immediate proximity of the stopped car slowed down slightly so that cars in the inner lane were able to quickly pass the stopped car without having to stop or slow down significantly.
Additionally, when a human-controlled driver was put on the 'road' with the autonomous cars and moved around the track in an aggressive manner, the other cars were able to give way to avoid the aggressive driver, improving safety.
The results, to be presented today at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Montréal, will be useful for studying how autonomous cars can communicate with each other, and with cars controlled by human drivers, on real roads in the future.
Sources:
[Editors Comment: The submitter is linked professionally to the last of the listed sources. Additional source material, including the original paper from Cambridge University as primary source, is also listed.]
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday May 23 2019, @07:14PM (1 child)
My fellow rush hour commuters tend to pack in with less than 0.5 second following distance at 15mph over the speed limit, except for the 1/100 who aren't playing the game and let 1/4 mile of empty asphalt grow in front of them. Any way at all you can get rid of those 1/100 who leave the big gaps will be a tremendous increase in roadway carrying capacity.
Even if automated drivers could follow at 0.2 second distance 80+mph, I wouldn't want to be on a road operating like that, one glitch from Windows attempting to update and getting blocked by network congestion could result in a nasty 100+ car pileup.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday May 23 2019, @09:09PM
Clippy: "I see you are trying to get your Windows car to stop aiming for that retaining wall. Do you need help with tha-"
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---