By Nick Heath, 11 September 2008 14:20
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The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has provided $320,000 to fund this Automated Bus Guidance System demonstration project, conducted by the California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) program based at UC Berkeley.
The test marks the first use of magnetic guidance technology to steer buses on a public road, seen in action here, and UC Berkley researchers say that driverless vehicles have taken a leap towards becoming reality.
Wei-Bin Zhang, PATH transit research program leader at UC Berkeley, said in a statement: "We have seen increasing interest among transit agencies in this technology because of its potential to bring the efficiency of public bus service to a level approaching that of light rail systems, but at a much lower overall cost."
Photo credit: UC Berkeley
Comments
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1. anonymous
Do the tests of pulling into drop off/pick-up zones work as well if there is a car parked too close to the zone ? Happens all the time..
2. What is the point
It will be useful to take all the unemployed bus drivers down to the job centre. Why is there this drive (pardon) in the West to put everyone out of a job?
Probably might be more productive for the team to spend time on something that could really benefit humanity
3. Karen Challinor
when everyone who actually works has had their job replaced by some piece of automation
who will actually be able to afford to use these, now automated, services
4. anonymous
Wonderful achievent. It will reduce accident as well as fatigue of driver's body.
Worry about drivers job. There should be some mechanism which require humqn interference. Incase the automation fail automatic it should get transfer to manual operator position.
5. John Crasher
Unless the magnets can also apply the brakes, I think the driver's job is still safe - provided he hasn't fallen asleep with little to do...
The concept is not new - we used to call them trams - but I suppose laying magnets might be a bit cheaper than rails - except for the maintenance. Magnets are rather prone to losing their magnetism, especially being pounded by traffic. But of course they would have thought of all that, wouldn't they.....?
6. Karen Challinor
so the consensus seems to be that it does need a driver if only to apply the brakes in an emergency
so whats the point of the automation ?
rather than have someone desperately trying not to fall asleep because all they are doing is watching a brake pedal, you may as well just keep the bus driver who can not only apply the brakes in an emergency but can steer the bus out of trouble and, on those rare occasions it's needed, accelerate the bus out of trouble