2012 Volvo - SARTRE road train on public road (A-roll)

SARTRE road train premiere on public roads

For the first time ever a road train comprising a Volvo XC60, a Volvo V60 and a Volvo S60 plus one truck automatically driving in convoy behind a lead vehicle has operated on a public motorway among other road users. The historic test in Spain was highly successful.

Vehicle platoon tests in the SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) project - a joint venture between Ricardo UK Ltd, Applus+ Idiada, Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Institut für Kraftfahrzeuge Aachen (IKA), SP Technical Research Institute, Volvo Technology and Volvo Car Corporation - are making progress. One major step forward was taken last week on a motorway outside Barcelona - the first-ever test drive of a road train among other road users.

"We covered 200 kilometres in one day and the test turned out well. We're really delighted," says Linda Wahlström, project manager for the SARTRE project at Volvo Car Corporation.

A road train consists of a lead vehicle driven by a professional driver followed by a number of vehicles. Building on Volvo Car Corporation's and Volvo Technology's already existing safety systems - including features such as cameras, radar and laser sensors - the vehicles monitor the lead vehicle and also other vehicles in their immediate vicinity. By adding in wireless communication, the vehicles in the platoon "mimic" the lead vehicle using Ricardo autonomous control - accelerating, braking and turning in exactly the same way as the leader.

Improved driver environment - among much else
The project aims to deliver improved comfort for drivers, who can now spend their time doing other things while driving. They can work on their laptops, read a book or sit back and enjoy a relaxed lunch.

Naturally the project also aims to improve traffic safety, reduce environmental impact and - thanks to smooth speed control - cut the risk of traffic tailbacks.

One lead vehicle and four trailing vehicles - consisting of a Volvo S60, a Volvo V60 and a Volvo XC60 plus a truck - made up the historic road train in Spain.
"Driving among other road-users is a great milestone in our project. It was truly thrilling," says Linda Wahlström. The vehicles drove at 85 kilometres an hour. The gap between each vehicle was just six metres. "During our trials on the test circuit we tried out gaps from five to fifteen metres," relates Linda Wahlström.

Quick acclimatisation
Sitting in a car just six metres behind another one while travelling at 85 km/h and relying totally on the technology may feel a bit scary. But the experiences gained so far indicate that people acclimatise very quickly.

The three-year SARTRE project has been under way since 2009. All told, the vehicles in the project have covered about 10,000 kilometres. After the test on the public roads in Spain, the project is now entering a new phase with the focus on analysis of fuel consumption.

"We've learnt a whole lot during this period. People think that autonomous driving is science fiction, but the fact is that the technology is already here. From the purely conceptual viewpoint, it works fine and road train will be around in one form or another in the future," says Linda Wahlström.

She continues:
"We've focused really hard on changing as little as possible in existing systems. Everything should function without any infrastructure changes to the roads or expensive additional components in the cars. Apart from the software developed as part of the project, it is really only the wireless network installed between the cars that set them apart from other cars available in showrooms today."

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[airobyou]

I hope this gets mainstream. Excellent work Volvo

[turkeysandvich]

IMAGINE ALL THE SEX YOU CAN HAVE ON THE FREEWAY

[Anon Post]

the human element has not been taken out. Trust the lead driver!

[lexusfan100]

i like the success..but i do like the hands on steering ..i want to enjoy the car and the feedback i get from the road on to steering wheel and into my hands..that is the joy

[Richard Rabinowitz]

Use the same indicators that funeral processions use. Those are already pretty much road trains of a sort. Several cars following a hearse, all with their lights blinking...

[Richard Rabinowitz]

Okay, now for the next step: using large vehicles as businesses or restaurants that cars can pull up to and disembark their drivers, and then welcome drivers back on board when they're finished eating or whatever. I call this "mothershipping", and the railroad equivalent of those large vehicles is probably the dining or lounge car.

[junpower010]

Very good tech

[Gediminas K]

do you need hands-free mobile if you have hands-free car? :)

[KitFireburn]

Genius idea, i applaud you Volvo!

[Farzad Tabatabaie]

A group of engineers sometimes get too dreamy... for this to work you'd need to place new laws.. somehow indicate to other drivers that this is a "car train" which might mean placing new light signals on the back of cars.. I'm no engineer, but as a designer I know how important it is to take communication into account... if 3 cars are in a car train that's cool.. but what happens when there are 14 cars in a row and someone is trying to take an exit but can't?