For the first time in history, a vehicle completely dependent on the sun for power will travel for over 13,000 km without a human in the driver’s seat. During the course of the 3-month drive, each VIAC vehicle will be equipped with specially-designed Smartphones that monitor CO2 levels, providing a live stream of environmental data throughout the journey, as well as identify quickly how pollution levels vary across continents.
Solar-Powered Robot Car Will Trek From Italy to China
For the first time in history, a vehicle completely dependent on the sun for power will travel for over 13,000 km without a human in the driver’s seat.
To showcase the benefit of green transportation, unmanned vans will drive through nine different countries as part of The VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge (VIAC), an epic 13,000km journey from Parma, Italy to Shanghai, China.
Not only are the vehicles are controlled by robots, but they run on electrical power and the whole electronic pilot is powered by solar energy, making this trip unique in history: goods packed in Italy will be brought to Shanghai on an intercontinental route with no human intervention and without using traditional fuel for the first time in history (VIAC).
Learning As You Go
During the course of the 3-month drive, each VIAC vehicle will be equipped with specially-designed Smartphones that monitor CO2 levels, providing a live stream of environmental data to the web via Twitter, @greenhaviour, throughout the journey.
“Visualising the data will enable us to identify quickly how pollution levels vary across continents. We will use IBM analytical tools to discover trends such as a correlation between certain illnesses and the quality of the air,” said Ed Jellard, consultant from IBM Hursley Development Lab.
Robot On-Board
If successful, the challenge will have accomplished two important goals: 1) it helps support the argument that electric vehicles can have all the power and stamina of the current gas or diesel powered options, and, 2) autonomous pilot can be installed without altering engine performance and without any requirement on additional power, being self-sustained.
With no need for human drivers, who can fall asleep at the wheel, or drive while under the influence, one might wonder if robotic transportation systems are safer as well as more efficient.
Source: www.care2.com
News from VisLab, Italy
The vehicles
Two electric vehicles will perform a 13,000 km trip mainly powered by solar energy, with no driver; two backup vehicles will be part of the trip as well. As a support, 4 Overland trucks will follow the expedition to provide a mechanic shop, storage, and accommodation; finally two additional trucks will be used for media coverage and will be equipped for live satellite broadcasting.
The first vehicle will drive autonomously in selected sections of the trip and will conduct experimental tests on sensing, decision, and control subsystems, and will continuously collect data. Although limited, human interventions will be needed to define the route and intervene in critical situations.
The second vehicle will automatically follow the route defined by the preceding vehicle, requiring no human intervention (100% autonomous). This will be regarded as a readily exploitable vehicle, able to move on predefined routes; at the end of the trip, its technology will be transferred to a set of vehicles to move in the inner part of Rome in the close future.
In case the first vehicle is in line of sight, the second will follow using primarily vision; in case the first vehicle is not visible (cut off by another vehc,e behind a curve, far ahead), the the second vehicle will use GPS info broadcasted by the first vehicle to determine a rough indication of the route. In any case, local sensing will be the primary means of avoiding obstacles, locating the road and the path (when driving off-road), locating other traffic, and -in general- understand the environment.
During the trip, demonstrations will be performed in specific hot spots; autonomous vehicles will follow given routes, negotiating traffic, avoiding obstacles, and stopping when required. The first demonstration was held in Rome at the EUR district on October 29, 2009, when Rome’s Major, Gianni Alemanno, officially presented this challenge.
If you want to witness the greatest challenge so far in the field of mobility, see how the vehicles move autonomously, interact with the engineers that will be following the vehicles, discuss about the great potential of this technology, please refer to this web page and stay tuned at vislab.it: a specific website (www.IntercontinentalChallenge.eu) is now online with news, feeds, video streaming from the vehicles while driving to Shanghai!
Source: www.vislab.it