| Infrastructure
of automated roadways |
Chapter
6
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Let’s
talk about the automated infrastructure for a little while. This
is the physical roadways and the sensors, actuators, controls,
and computers that operate the regional grid, its interchanges
and all the feeder/collector roads leading right to individual
neighborhoods and houses.
Road-building that make economic sense
You may be
wondering how the automated roadway can coexist with existing
roadways. The answer is that the automated regional roadway is
only nine feet wide and
needs no shoulder. It would likely be built mostly as an elevated system
several feet above ground, or in some cases, at bridge height
over existing roadways.
The automated roadway is far more material-efficient and economical to build
than conventional asphalt or concrete streets, and it can be assembled rapidly
from prefabricated 50-foot long segments.
 Intermediate
Section
Long-lasting
road surface material is much less expensive per square foot than conventional
asphalt or concrete roadways, and is used only where tires contact the automated
roadway.
Lenght
of Roadways & Number of Interchanges
A city the
size of Orlando, Florida occupies an
area of about 400 square miles or a 20 mile by 20 mile square equivalent.
This requires only 840 miles of regional roadway and 200
interchanges. It does not
matter that the actual configuration would not be a rectangle but an irregular
outline. A city such as sprawling Atlanta would require a grid to serve
about 1,600 square miles. That would require about 3,280 miles
of regional roadway
and 820 interchanges.
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How different width vehicles use
the same
ATS roadway
 see
animation
1.
Sensor array is part of a precise feeback system that maintains road position
of
vehicles
2. Guide rail sits below road surface. During normal
travel only tires touch the roadway. But in the event of earthquakes, tornadoes
or other emergencies, a retractable arm on the vehicle automatically secures
the vehicle to the guide rail.
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Automated
traffic routing
Each city has its own metropolitan regional grid
and its own master traffic-flow schedule coordinated by a central
computer with a collective memory. This learning computer is not
concerned with individual vehicles, but with overall traffic patterns
and total number of vehicles distributed over grid elements and interchanges
by the hour, day and season.
Humans
are creatures of habit. Some habits are forced by existing
physical reality. Each morning one or two persons will come
out of each house and travel to the same one or two places
of work. Several dozen or hundred will come out of each apartment
complex and disburse to the same locations. It does not matter
which individual goes to what location. Each morning the schools
will open on certain days. Shopping centers, restaurants, factories,
and hotels will draw predictable traffic patterns. The airport
may receive 40,000 travelers but most will be going to the
same hotels, the same attractions, and offices in about the
same numbers. It doesn’t matter that the people are different.
This collective memory and learning process allows each Regional
Master Computer (RMC) to project traffic distribution and flow
throughout each 24-hour period by day of the week and season.
Here
is just one possible scenario for automated control of vehicles,
using existing and emerging technology.
- Traveler logs in via phone, GPS device or Internet
to make a trip:
- Traveler specifies private or "taxi" vehicle,
origin and destination(s)
- Regional Master Computer (RMC) selects the
best route based on available collector roads, through roads,
universal interchanges
and predicted traffic volume
- RMC relays routes and arrival times
to computers operating the interchanges vehicle will be using
or traveling past
- RMC relays trip info to the chosen vehicle’s
on-board computer
- On recurrent trips, i.e., a weekday commute,
the RMC can assign a route from its library of trips.
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 Automated
control of vehicles
The RMC does not monitor or control individual vehicles.
Steering, accelerating, braking and turning is managed by
each vehicle’s
onboard computer, with input from nearby Interchange Computers
(ICs). ICs coordinate movements into, through, and out of
interchanges.
If a vehicle is to travel past an interchange as THROUGH TRAFFIC
then that IC pays no attention other than tracking it as it does
all vehicles in its assigned area. The vehicle itself also monitors
its position continuously as a check on the infrastructure controls.
Conventional controls allow most vehicles to be driven on non-automated
roads.
Tracking, billing and privacy
You may wonder how the computers know which vehicle
is which, and how billing is done. When people check in to use
the system, the
RMC generates a unique trip ticket number so vehicles can be
tracked by Interchange Computers during their trips, and vehicle
owners
billed for services used. The unique trip ticket and secure billing
systems
are designed to protect the privacy of passengers and their movements.
< Back
to Chapter 5B next: Chapter 7- Automated
regional and interstate travel >
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American Standards
Institute for Automated Transport Systems, LLC
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