"Road trains" will allow drivers to sit back and relax as their cars are guided by a lead vehicle.
Want to catch up on the Sunday Times while you drive across the state to visit your folks? It seems like a hazardous proposition, but, within just eight years, hands-free driving could be a viable option, thanks to the new “road train” technology.
Road trains aren’t quite the robotic cars that everyone’s longed for since The Jetsons first aired, but they’re also a whole lot easier to manufacture. Essentially, road trains consist of a vehicle platoon, in which a fleet of software-enabled passenger cars follow one lead car driven by a professional driver. The following cars will automatically adjust speed and direction to travel safely behind the lead car, allowing passengers to read, watch a movie, or take a nap as their cars travel.
Volvo is leading this innovative technology, and the company estimates that road trains could be on European roads as early as 2020. In addition to making traveling more enjoyable, the technology would reduce road congestion and improve fuel efficiency. And, because the technology relies on software, virtually any car could be customized to be “platoon-ready.”
So far, Volvo has trialed a road train with a lead and following car on a closed track in Sweden, and will soon add more cars to the platoon for another trial. After that, the company hopes that the technology will be ready to be used on the road.
Although road trains aren’t likely to be an option for most drivers for years to come, we can’t help thinking how much more enjoyable the morning commute would be.
Check out a video of how road trains work.