Smart cars

A smart car is a term coined to describe a vehicle that has some form of artificial intelligence. The term Artificial Intelligence was first used by John McCarthy who was a pioneer in the theory of mathematical computation of intelligence. Automation Technology has progressed a lot particularly since the last decade of the 20^th century. However the real push forward came with the invention of the integrated circuit. This alone helped automation technology take a giant leap forward.

The Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch was the first to originally support the smart car project. It was given a name which they derived from their title and named it "Swatch mobile". SMART is the short form for Swatch Mercedes ART. Swatch CEO Nicolas Hayek who ranked 292 among the richest people in 2006 had little experience in automobiles. He needed an established car manufacturer for his project. He thus initially narrowed his choice to Volkswagen. But plans never took off and Swatch chose Daimler-Benz for further collaboration. Daimler-Benz and the Swiss watch manufacturer established in 1994 a factory complex at Hambach, Lorraine, France

A smart car basically helps a driver by taking over certain monotonous and common decisions to make the drive safer and more pleasurable. In other words a smart car is really an automobile with electronics that are so advanced that the driver can safely hand over certain chores that he would otherwise find boring. An important point to remember is that Microprocessors have been used in car engines since the late 1960s. They were used for stability, brakes and general comfort. Towards the end of the last century innovations like GPRS navigation, reverse sensing systems and night vision (able to visualize objects and people beyond normal human range) were added and are quite common now. The present century is leading to further exciting innovations like e-mail access, voice control, smart card activation instead of keys and systems that keep the vehicle a safe distance from cars and objects in its path.

The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities ) is the executive body of the European Union. It has established a smart car development program called the Intelligent Car Flagship Initiative . They are promoting the development of cars that are smarter, safer and cleaner. The intelligent car is one of their initiatives that aim to improve public services and quality of life

The goals of that program can briefly summarized as discussed in succeeding paragraphs.

Firstly we have the Autonomous Cruise Control Cruise system. This system automatically controls the speed of an automobile. The driver sets the speed and the system takes over the car for maintenance of the cruising speed already set.

The Lane departure warning system is a new driving aid. This system operates at speeds of80kph and above. When a driver unintentionally departs from his lane on the motorway or highway this system is activated automatically. Its a real boon on a highway where cars do speed up.

For drivers who become drowsy for any reason like tiredness a project Awake to help them is on line. This is a system ">for evaluation of a Driver and a warning to reduce Traffic Risk.

Computerized engine management systems are also part of this initiative. In this an engine computer that is fully programmable is used to for an individual s engine setup. This is important as the engine becomes more efficient and delivers better performance.

Another aspect of the smart car relates to parking. With parking place at a premium in the cities this aspect gains added importance. A smart car is generally a short car. Thus being short its easier to park a smart car in relation to a conventional car can be parked nose in. Thus parking space is reduced and more smart cars can be parked in relation to conventional cars.

The Global Positioning System (GPS ) is a system that can pinpoint the location of the car. A group of 24 earth orbiting man made satellites are made use off. Signals from these satellites transmit precise data and enable a GPS receiver to determine a smart cars location, speed and the direction it is proceeding to.

In the long range a driverless car is the focus of the future. Tremendous amount of research is on to create such a smart car to give the benefit to the passenger. Coupled with alternative propulsion, it is remains the main thrust for technological advance in car technology by 2020. Other names for these exciting projects are autopilot, autonomous vehicle, or auto-drive car.

Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS) is an automatic parking system. This was first developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 2004 for its latest Lexus models. In Europe, the APGS is marketed as the Intelligent Park Assist system. On vehicles equipped with the APGS, via an in-dash screen and button controls, the car can steer itself into a parking space with little input from the driver.

The final smart car design proved to be far too expensive and swatch had no choice but to pull out of the project. Swatch suffered heavy losses. But this is not the end of the project. Other major companies are in the fray and developments are going on apace in this field.

With gasoline becoming costlier a new version of the Smart car that is 100% electric has been announced by Daimler Benz. The car is simple and only requires a plug in to charge it. Also pollution levels of this car zero compared to the conventional cars.The car develops good speed compared to e regular gasoline models in city driving. Presently its under test in Europe and may go to the USA. The smart car design is due for further modifications in the years to come. Just keep your fingers crossed for stunning developments in this field.

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