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PA Media – Motoring, PA Media – Motoring
What if your car could communicate with the vehicle ahead to prevent traffic jams?
Nissan is headquartered in North America in Franklin, Tennessee, and actively tests advanced autonomous driving and AI technology to do so.
At Nissan’s Advanced Technical Center in Silicon Valley, researchers are working to make transportation backup a thing of the past.
“Our goal is to eliminate the waste of stop-and-go traffic,” said ZVI Guter, senior manager of Tech Mobility, Nissan’s technology hub.
In typical traffic conditions, drivers tend to follow too closely, forcing sudden brakes when approaching slow vehicles. This behavior contributes to the rolling traffic jam. This is an inefficient pattern compared to maintaining a steady pace, Guter noted.
“Stop and go traffic is often due to imperfections in human driving behavior,” Gooter said.
Nissan’s partners aim to “lead group action”
Nissan researchers are working with the University of California, Berkeley and the Contra Costa Transportation Department to “predict and guide collective action” to “reduce human driving inefficiencies.”
This program is named Cooperative Commestion Management (CCM).
CCM trials use data from lead vehicles known as probes to help trailing vehicles maintain optimal speed and pacing. The probe collects real-time congestion data, so it sends that information to the vehicle about 30 seconds to a minute late. Equipped with this insight, these vehicles adjust their speed before reaching slowdown, effectively “creating a smooth buffer for subsequent cars.”
“Our tests show that CCM doesn’t just make commuting more comfortable and efficient, but it doesn’t just make it safer,” Guter said.
During 600 miles of testing, vehicles with CCM software with the CCM software withstand 85% hard braking incidents and reduced traffic downtime by 70%. Furthermore, this test has caused the vehicle to be reduced too much.
Nissan’s Propilot supports drivers
This process relies on Propylot Assist, Nissan’s driver assistance technology that increases vision and awareness through cameras and radar sensors.
In reality, this project can reduce stubborn traffic, but its real-world applications go against human behavior.
Before a traffic jam, the vehicle slows down, but the driver could be forced to override the system and reduce the distance between the vehicles ahead.
“To make this more acceptable to human drivers, we are trying to enhance the vehicle interface to let drivers know why we’re slowing down,” said Nissan researcher Joy Carpio.
The team focuses on bringing awareness and education to the driver. Drivers teach drivers that slowing down can save time.
“We need cooperation. It’s difficult to implement if the drivers accept the solution,” Carpio said. “We want our system to seamlessly explain human behavior.”
While widespread applications are not poised in the near future, Nissan believes the technology could revolutionize driving and safety.
“It not only makes Nissan drivers safer and more comfortable, but it also has a positive impact on the entire transportation system,” Guter said.
