Automated Road Vehicles for Passenger Transportation

Robert Johnson

R. E. Johnson ConsultingRockville, Maryland

www.autoroadvehicles.com

June 2006

Automated Road Vehicles (ARVs)

• Steer themselves on a flat surface

• No mechanical constraint

• Self contained power source

• All sizes: 4 passenger to 50 passenger

• Also called:

– Automated (or Automatic) Guided Vehicles

– Road based people movers

The Automated HighwayFrom Time Magazine, January 23, 1956

• Advertisement by electric power industry

• “...speed and steering automatically controlled by electronic devices embedded in the road.”

Automated Road Vehicles vs. Automated Highways

• ARV speed is much lower -- 20 to 25 mph (32-40 kph)

• ARV headway is typically much longer

• ARV vehicles are captive to system

– No problem with damage while off system

– Vehicle serves many passengers

• Small ARV systems are practical

• ARVs can promote higher density, not sprawl

Presentation Overview

• History and Status of ARVs

• Near term applications

• Proposed system design

• (Draft) Development plan

ParkShuttle I

• Entered service in 1997 at Amsterdam airport

• Reserved lane, but cars & people could cross

• 15 mph (22 kph)

• Circulation within 10,000 car parking lot

• 6 seats, 4 standees

ParkShuttle IRotterdam Application

• Connected rail station to business park

• Proved passengers accept driverless vehicles

• Issues: low capacity and false positives from sensors

ParkShuttle I - Rotterdam Application

ParkShuttle II• 20 passengers

• 20 mph (32 kph)

ParkShuttle II - Rotterdam Application

• Six vehicles

• Dec 1, 05: Grand opening with Prime Minister

• Dec 6, 05: Collision between two empty vehicles

• Feb 7, 06: Fire in garage destroys one vehicle and damages another

Toyota IMTS (Intelligent Multi-mode Transport System)

• Driverless platoons in exclusive lane

• Began operation 2001 at Japanese theme park

• 19 mph (30 kph) maximum

Toyota IMTS EXPO 2005 Bus

• 17 seats, 33 standees

• 19 mph (30 kph) max

• Powered by CNG

• 3-bus platoons

Toyota IMTS at EXPO 2005

• 1 mile (1.6 km) route

• Attendant in lead bus

• Short headway within platoon

• Millions of passengers

Yamaha Floriade Vehicle

• For 2002 flower show

• 25 vehicles

• 7 mph (11 kph) max

• Based on golf cart

Upper Floriade Station

• System had two stations, at top and bottom of hill

• Level boarding from raised platforms

CyberC3 EU-China Project

• Plan to carry tourists around Shanghai park in late 2006

• Follows magnets buried in the road

• Technology similar to EU CyberCar project

ULTra Personal Rapid Transit Vehicle

• 4 passengers

• 25 mph (40 kph) maximum

ULTra Personal Rapid Transit

• 18 vehicles ordered for London’s Heathrow airport

• Service to start in 2008

Advanced Transport Systems, Ltd.

• Producer of the ULTra PRT vehicle

• Spun off from the University of Bristol

• Approximately $ 20 million funding from EU and UK

• Built 0.6 mile (1 km) test track

• Recently sold 25% of its equity to BAA, the world’s largest airport operator, for £ 7.5 million

Characteristics of ARVs that Determine Initial Applications

• Low speed, 20-25 mph (32-40 kph) max

• Low operations and maintenance cost

• Moderate capital cost

• Right-of-way requirements

Characteristics of Initial Applications for ARVs

• Short distance: 0.6 to 3 miles (1-5 km)

• Extend existing mode to trip generator

• Not in Central Business District

• Special cases where right or way is available

• Snow/ice not excessive

• Would like a People Mover but can’t justify cost

Can Create Value by Generating ProximityExample: Need 5000 parking spaces “close” to airport terminal

• Build parking structure next to terminal at $15K/space = $75M, or

• Surface lot one mile (1.6 km) away at $2K/space = $10M, plus Automated Road Vehicle system with maximum 1 minute wait time and 3 minutes travel time

• Important to have short wait time, since travel models generally weigh it 2-3 times as much as travel time

Relative Number of ARV Applications for Various Pairs of Endpoints

Rail or Bus RapidTransit Station

AirportTerminal

Parking Lot

Rail or Bus RapidTransit Station

medium

Airport Terminal medium medium

Parking Lot medium HIGH low

Business Park or otherEmployment Center

HIGH low-medium medium

Commercial(Mall, Hotel, etc.)

HIGH medium medium

Other (ExhibitionCenter, Hospital, etc)

medium low-medium medium

Suggested System Design Principles

• Exclusive roadway

• Shared vehicle

• Follow existing People Mover standards

• Conservative headway (“Brick Wall” stopping)

• Failure recovery is basic

Proposed Vehicle Characteristics

• Narrow, 4.5 feet (1.4m) wide

– Important to minimize roadway width

• All seated

– Stability with a narrow vehicle

– Don’t need the high capacity obtainable with standees

• Acceleration and jerk limits suitable for standees

– Can’t be sure all passengers are seated

– Wheelchairs will be unsecured

Headway and Capacity

• 5 second minimum headway

• 6 passengers

• 4320 pass/hr/direction max (6*3600/5)

• Approximately 3000 pass/hr/dir practical max

Automated Microbus

Microbus Interior Showing Two Fold-Down Seats

Suzuki concept van showing possible design for doors and roof opening

(but Microbus doors are on one side only)

Microbus Front, Top, and Side Views

Microbus Exclusive Roadway

Microbus Route Along Freeway

Arterial Passing Over Freeway

Microbus Route Along FreewayPassing Under Arterial

Microbus Route (in yellow) Along Freeway Passing Under Cross Street At Interchange

Microbus Tunnel Under Cross Street

Microbus End-of-Line Station

Microbus “T” Intersection

Control System Design

• Intelligent vehicles

• Central control is executive only

• However, might have remote manual driving if on-board control system fails

• Decentralized control gives a robust system: if vehicle fails, just take it out of service

• Easy to expand system

• Vehicle has complete knowledge of system layout

Lateral Control by Means of Magnets in Road

Vehicle following

• Radar or laser

• Same type of sensors are used in auto industry for Adaptive Cruise Control

Merging Without Central Control

Vehicle always knows whether it’s in high or low priority lane

Unplanned Events

• Trespassers in roadway

• Foreign objects: tree branches, trash, etc.

• What if small animal in roadway?

Failure Recovery

• Roadway is two-way everywhere

• If vehicle fails:

– Bring vehicle in other lane alongside and transfer passengers (even wheelchair users)

– Back another vehicle down lane in front of failed vehicle

– Tow failed vehicle away

• Should be able to clear line in 20 minutes or less

Automated Microbus(Draft) Development Plan

• Major Subsystems

• Skills needed

• Stages of development

Major Subsystems

• Infrastructure: Roadway, stations, and maintenance facility

• Vehicle chassis including actuators for brakes, steering, and doors, as well as heat and A/C

• Body including seats

• Control system

– Sensors

– On-board computer

– Communications including closed circuit TV

– Central control

Skills Needed

• Infrastructure costing (Civil Engineering)

• Automotive engineering

– Chassis upgrades

– Body

• Robotics

• High reliability systems

• Application design, analysis and simulation

• Patronage estimation and Cost/Benefit analysis

Stages of Development

• Paper Studies

• One complete vehicle with joystick control rather than automatic control

• Three vehicles with automatic control and at-grade test track

• First system serving the public

Paper Studies

• $50K - 200K

• Design and cost vehicle and control system

• Use pedestrian facility unit costs for infrastructure

• Lay out several small applications, perhaps to serve proposed Rail or Bus Rapid Transit lines

• Estimate travel and wait times of applications

• Perform Benefit/Cost analysis for each application

Complete Vehicle with Joystick Control

• $300K - 1M

• Has actuators for brakes, steering, and doors, but no sensors, on-board computer, or communications

• Accurate energy requirements and weight

• Ride quality and human factors; could show to focus groups

• Could arrange tests on existing pedestrian bridges to ensure no problems (such as oscillations)

Three Automated Vehicles and At-grade Test Track

• $2M - 5M

• Only one vehicle need be complete

• One station

• One “T” intersection

• Could be done inexpensively by leasing existing unused parking lot

First System Serving the Public

• 2 - 4 stations

• 0.6 - 2 miles (1-3 km) of two-way roadway

• 10 - 15 vehicles

• Probably special application such as airport, rather than as part of metropolitan transit system

My Plans

• Finish software to:

– Lay out applications quickly

– Compute station-to-station travel times

• Establish costs for exclusive roadway, including at grade, elevated, and short tunnels under cross streets

• Case studies: applications to access Rail or Bus Rapid Transit systems

For more information on Automated Road Vehicles

please see:

www.autoroadvehicles.com