Slow Vehicles Research Articles

Towards a system for preventing accidents with slow vehicles through video surveillance

Towards a system for preventing accidents with slow vehicles through video surveillance

Sustainable Urban Transport on Three Wheels

Abstract Many of our global warming problems come from transport. The majority of people who need transport the most in the developing world are too poor to pay for the highest-technology vehicles which are not polluting. In the past 10 years, 3-6-passenger, battery-powered, Small Electric Passenger Vehicles (as this article is calling them, SEPVs) have appeared in major cities in the developing world. These slow, relatively safe, easily maneuverable, non-polluting and low-cost vehicles, on their three little wheels, are cutting the size of the world’s transport carbon footprint. Recognize that this paper is only focused on carbon footprint: carbon emissions. It is not about “pollution in general” or “emissions in general”. No other published article has explicitly considered the potential of the SEPV to contribute in reducing a nation's contribution to carbon footprint and thus to global warming. This article makes the case for building urban transport strategy and policy around such vehicles, in developing countries, in order to lower the countries' carbon footprint: that is its original contribution. The data showed that the SEPVs made a significant contribution to reducing the potential carbon footprint of transport in the small city of Cox’s Bazar, in Bangladesh, proportionate to its population. The inference is that SEPVs could reduce the carbon footprint of the nation if they become a major, integrated part of urban transport in the megacities, which creates most of the country's carbon footprint. Other developing countries should study Cox's Bazar's example. India is already ahead of the game.

Probing the effect of the expected-speed violation illusion.

Motion perception is complex for the brain to process, involving interacting computations of distance, time, and speed. These computations can be biased by the context and the features of the perceived moving object, giving rise to several types of motion illusions. Recent research has shown that, in addition to object features and context, lifelong priors can bias attributes of perception. In the present work, we investigated if such long acquired expectations can bias speed perception. Using a two-interval forced-choice (2-IFC) task, we asked 160 participants in different experiments to judge which of two vehicles, one archetypically fast (e.g. a motorbike), and one comparatively slower (e.g. a bike), was faster. By varying the objective speeds of the two-vehicle types, and measuring the participants' point of subjective equality, we observed a consistent bias in participants' speed perception. Counterintuitively, in the first three experiments the speed of an archetypically slow vehicle had to be decreased relative to that of an archetypically fast vehicle, for the two to be judged as the same. Similarly, in the next three experiments, an archetypically fast vehicle's speed had to be increased relative to an archetypically slow vehicle's speed, for the two to be perceived as equal. Four additional control experiments replicated our results. We define this newly found bias as the expected-speed violation illusion (ESVI). We believe the ESVI as conceptually very similar to the size-weight illusion, and discuss it within the Bayesian framework of human perception.

Dissipation energy and satisfaction rate for a two-lane traffic model with two types of vehicles

In this paper, we investigate the energy dissipation and the satisfaction rate in a mixture of traffic flow in a two-lane cellular automaton model. We considered two kinds of vehicles vary according to their length and maximum speed. We find that slow vehicles hindered fast ones while driving continuously in the same lane, especially in the intermediate density range. Hence, the effect of the initial configuration of slow vehicles is investigated. It is found that in the inhomogeneous initial configuration where the slow start in one lane gives rise to a large number of unsatisfied fast vehicles and a larger frequency of lane changing as well as the dissipation energy increases.

Simulated Sensor Based Strategies for Obstacle Avoidance Using Velocity Profiling for Autonomous Vehicle FURBOT

Freight Urban Robotic Vehicle (FURBOT) is an autonomous vehicle designed to transport last mile freight to designated urban stations. It is a slow vehicle designed to tackle urban environment with complete autonomy. A slow vehicle may have slightly different strategies for avoiding obstacles. Unlike on a highway, it has to deal with pedestrians, traffic lights and slower vehicles while maintaining smoothness in its drive. To tackle obstacle avoidance for this vehicle, sensor feedback based strategies have been formulated for smooth drive and obstacle avoidance. A full mathematical model for the vehicle is formulated and simulated in MATLAB environment. The mathematical model uses velocity control for obstacle avoidance without steering control. The obstacle avoidance is attained through velocity control and strategies are formulated with velocity profiling. Innovative techniques are formulated in creating the simulated sensory feed-backs of the environment. Using these feed-backs, correct velocity profiling is autonomously created for giving velocity profile input to the velocity controller. Proximity measurements are assumed to be available for the vehicle in its given range of drive. Novelty is attained by manipulating velocity profile without prior knowledge of the environment. Four different type of obstacles are modeled for simulated environment of the vehicle. These obstacles are randomly placed in the path of the vehicle and autonomous velocity profiling is verified in simulated environment. The simulated results obtained show satisfactory velocity profiling for controller input. The current technique helps to tune the existing controller and in designing of a better velocity controller for the autonomous vehicle and bridges the gap between sensor feed-back and controller input. Moreover, accurate input profiling creates less strain on the system and brings smoothness in drive for an overall safer environment.

Preparation of TTO/UF resin microcapsule via in situ polymerisation and modelling of its slow release

For slow release of tea tree oil (TTO), TTO were encapsulated by urea–formaldehyde (UF) resin via in situ polymerisation. The effects of curing time and drying condition on particle size, and TTO loading of the TTO/UF microcapsules were investigated. The results indicated that TTO/UF resin microcapsules with curing time of 80 min had narrow size distribution and good wall cover. Drying at ambient was better to maintain the TTO content than drying at oven. The loading of TTO with curing time of 80 min can be up to 45 wt.% of the mass-proportion to the prepared microcapsules, and more than 90 wt.% of the loaded TTO could be sustainably released in about 5 days. Moreover, the release kinetics of TTO/UF microcapsules was well described by Ritger-Peppas model, revealing non-Fickian diffusion. Promisingly, TTO/UF microcapsules with good stability can be used as a slow release vehicle for antibacterial application.

T21 China 2050: A Tool for National Sustainable Development Planning

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda are a key focus for implementing the Sustainable Development (SD) concept. But generally speaking, SD goals and targets are continuously evolving, country specific, complex to implement, and are often given relatively short time horizons, such as the 15-year horizon for the SDGs. Many SD issues need a much longer time horizon as the policy interventions to deal with these issues can take decades before their effects become apparent, which is especially true for China. The T21 China 2050 is developed to study the long-term SD challenges and opportunities of the country. In its business-as-usual simulation to 2050, T21 China 2050 reveals some of the sustainability challenges facing China, including 1) aging population and labor force decline, 2) huge food imports, 3) land degradation and loss of arable land, 4) water shortages, 5) huge fossil fuel imports, and 6) carbon dioxide emissions. These SD issues are a subset of the SDGs specifically relevant to China over a time horizon well beyond 2030. The model is then used to test possible policy interventions in these six areas under two separate scenarios: Balanced and Narrowly Focused. The major results from these two scenarios are compared with those of the business-as-usual scenario. The simulations show that by adopting certain policy measures, China's path towards SD can be further improved. It also shows that a variety of policy measures can be selected and tested with the T21 China 2050 model for exploring the future SD prospects of the country. Specific policies recommended include: extension of retirement age, adjustment of the current family planning policy, protection of agriculture land, promotion of agricultural R&D to raise yield, improvement of public transportation to slow private vehicle ownership, increased investment in renewable energy, and water conservation.

Characteristics of Vehicular Lateral Shifts in Non-lane-disciplined Traffic Stream

Vehicles moving in a non-lane-disciplined traffic stream frequently look for the opportunities to overtake/pass the leading vehicle(s) without compromising the safety. The lateral movement would be more frequent when a vehicle follows a slow vehicle and look for overtaking opportunity. The magnitudes of the lateral shift would be different for different vehicle classes depending on the size and the maneuverability of the vehicle. The present study aims to quantify the lateral positioning characteristics of different vehicle classes and their distribution. From the traffic videos collected from Hyderabad city, India, the trajectories of each vehicle have been extracted using an image processing software TRAZER. The extracted trajectories were corrected for any random noise using CEEMDAN algorithm. The lateral position information of each vehicle was extracted for every 0.04 sec from the trajectory data, and the cumulative lateral shifts during a longitudinal unit movement were calculated. The analysis shows that the lateral shifting characteristics are different for different vehicles classes. A maximum lateral shift was observed in the cases of the Motorized two-wheeler (MTW) compared to the other vehicle classes. Further, the probability distribution of lateral shifts of different vehicles classes was investigated. It was found that, except for MTW, the lognormal distribution could model the lateral shifts characteristics of different types of vehicles. The lateral shift characteristic of the MTW could be modeled as a Weibull process. The findings of the study would enable better modeling of the lateral dynamics of different vehicle classes in a non-lane-disciplined traffic stream.

The Effects of On-Street Parking toward Street Performance (Case Study: Kaliurang Street, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Street is a transportation infrastructure that people use in daily activities. The quality of street performance greatly affects community activities. Street performance is influenced by various activities around the street. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of on street parking toward street performance in terms of street capacity and level of service. The study was conducted in three stages, i.e. preliminary survey (determining the time and location of the study), data collection (geometric data of streets, traffic volume, parking volume, pedestrian volume, number of slow vehicles, and access of vehicles from the side of the street, data analysis (calculate streets capacity and level of service. The result of research shows that there is influence of on street parking activity toward street performance in Kaliurang street. The effective width of the street is 10 meters down by 3.6 meters and the street capacity decreases from 3097.5 smp/hour to 2151.5 smp/hour. The decline was caused by various activities on the side of the street such as one on street parking. On a weekday, the morning of the Monday and Thursday, the level of service in Kaliurang Street is at level C, while on the holidays precisely Sunday morning is at level B. The level of street services increased significantly during the afternoon. In the afternoon, the level of street services is at level E on weekday or holiday.

Multi-stage stochastic framework for simultaneous energy management of slow and fast charge electric vehicles in a restructured smart parking lot

A widespread appeal of electric vehicles entails, among other elements, the provision of fast charging stations to reduce the range anxiety. We present a novel structure and operating mechanism for EV parking lots where, traditionally, parked vehicles were charged in level-1 or level-2 charging modes. Due to ubiquitous presence of these parking lots in all urban and residential areas, the proposed approach actually leads to creation of just as many fast charging stations each accommodating a modest number of fast charging vehicles in proportion to the base capacity of the parking lot. A three-stage scheduling framework based on stochastic programming and MPC is introduced, consisting of day-ahead, periodic real-time and intra-period real-time planning for joint scheduling task of inflexible loads, slow- and fast-charged vehicles. The comprehensive fast charge allocation algorithm incorporates V2V concept, M/G/∞ queuing theory and a resource priority stack based on Most Laxity First concept. By providing energy to EVs of different charging classes, the proposed model can be considered a unified approach to prevent or at least reduce the need for separate fast charging stations in urban areas. Comprehensive examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in handling charging load of different EV classes.

Vehicle-tunnel coupled vibration analysis of submerged floating tunnel due to tether parametric excitation

Submerged floating tunnel (SFT) is a novel type traffic structure for crossing the long straits. To analyze the vehicle-tunnel coupled vibration of SFT due to tether parametric excitation, Hamilton principle and D'Alembert's principle are applied to establish the theoretical model. The fourth order Runge-Kutta method is carried out to calculate the responses of the system. The proposed model is verified by the beam on the elastic foundation (BOEF) model without considering tether parametric excitation, and the relative difference is less than 2%. If the initial excitation can be controlled in a small range, the influence of the tether vibration on the vehicle-coupled vibration can be efficiently reduced. Meantime, the effects of some factors, such as the gravity-buoyance ratio (GBR), the inclined angle of the tether (IAT), and the vehicle velocity on the dynamic response are discussed. The results show that the dynamic amplification factors (DAFs) of the deflection and the bending moment decrease with the GBR increasing. Besides, the larger IAT results in larger tether tension fluctuation when the vehicle-tunnel coupled vibration of the SFT subjected to tether parametric excitation. And the slower vehicle is more affected by the tether vibration when the vehicle drives in the tunnel.

The Passenger Car Equivalent Factors for Heavy Vehicles on Turbo Roundabouts

The presence of heavy and slower vehicles within the traffic stream significantly reduces traffic capacity. This reduction increases with the higher participation of heavy vehicles in the stream, which, compared to passenger cars, move at a lower speed. Furthermore, they occupy more space on the road, are characterized by a longer reaction time to the road traffic situations, and put greater pressure on the surface structure, etc. In order to conduct analyses related to determination of the conditions in the traffic stream, the traffic stream mixed in terms of composition is converted from real vehicles into passenger car equivalents. For this purpose, the passenger car equivalent factors (Ei) appropriate for a given group of vehicles are used. The paper presents the results of a study aimed to determine the numerical values of passenger car equivalent factors for heavy vehicles (trucks, buses, trucks with trailers, articulated buses) on turbo roundabouts. The research was carried out on turbo roundabouts located in Poland.

Integrating Non-Friction-Based Braking Technology into Locomotives to Improve Train Efficiency, Durability, and Safety

While frictional braking is an intuitive method by which to slow vehicles, it is also a costly braking method due to the fact that frictional brakes wear down due to frequent use and high quantities of friction. On trains, this problem is worse because of their constant use and because heavier objects require stronger braking forces. The objective is to improve locomotive performance by developing a braking system that utilizes non-frictional braking technology to cut these costs and yield safer, more durable brakes. This project is directed towards dieselelectric3 locomotives with air brakes, as engineers can design blended braking systems that integrate non-frictional braking into these braking systems. The candidate solutions include regenerative, rheostatic, and hydrodynamic braking, two of which use magnetic fields, and the third of which uses fluid drag forces. Regenerative braking is the proposed solution due to its ability to harness and use electricity during braking. Project success would contribute to railway company success by reducing expenses spent on air brakes; it would also contribute to locomotive manufacturer success because the product will likely become a popular technology. Finally, it would benefit the environment by reducing the external energy required by the railway network. Keywords: Locomotive, braking, non-frictional, regenerative, rheostatic, hydrodynamic, diesel-electric

Design and Implementation of Distributed Charge Signal Processing Software for Smart Slow and Quick Electric Vehicle Charge

As environmental pollution and fossil fuel energy problems from fuel vehicle have occurred, the interest of electric vehicle(EV) has increased. EV industry and energy industry have grown dynamically in these days. It is expected that the next generation of primary transportation will be EV, and it is necessary to prepare EV infra and efficient energy management such as EV communication protocol, EV charge station, and smart grid. Those EV and energy industry fields are now on growth. Also, the study and development of them are now in progress. In this paper, distributed charge signal processing software for smart slow and quick EV charge is proposed and designed for dealing with EV charge demand. The software consists of smart slow and quick EV charge schedule engine and EV charge power distribution core. The software is designed to support two charge station types. One is normal EV charge station and the other is bus garage EV charge station. Both two types collect the data from EV charge stations, and then analyze the collected data. The software suggests optimized EV charge schedule and deliveries EV charge power distribution information to power switchboard system, and the designed software is implemented on embedded system. It is expected that the software provides efficient EV charge schedule.

Antimicrobial activity evaluation for gentamicin loaded PLA microspheres

Abstract Poly(lactic) acid (PLA) is well known as a drug carrier in drug delivery system. Double emulsion and solvent evaporation technique was used to encapsulate gentamicin within PLA microspheres. The ability of PLA microspheres to encapsulate gentamicin was investigated at three different wt%; 0.125%, 0.25% and 0.375%. The highest encapsulation efficiency (42.3%) and drug loading (26.5x10-3%) was observed at 0.375 wt% gentamicin loaded. For antimicrobial assay, the diameter for zone of inhibition was measured and compared for each wt% of gentamicin used. This evaluation was done to determine the effectiveness of gentamicin delivery from the PLA microspheres to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. The higher wt% of gentamicin loaded into the PLA microspheres, the larger the diameter for zone of inhibition was obtained with the highest diameter at 0.375 wt% (2.3 cm). The study showed that the PLA is having potential to serve as a slow and sustained release drug delivery vehicle since the inhibition zone only can be measured after day 3 of incubation.

State of the Art and Problems of Defeat of Low, Slow and Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The article deals with one of the most intensively developing threats for civilian and military spheres - hostile use of Low, Slow and Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (LSS UAVs). The classification of the LSS UAVs is given. The existing threats of using LSS UAVs are divided into three categories. Special attention is paid to the third category of threats, the main feature of which is a high level of training of the operator. Main advantages and drawbacks of LSS UAVs are considered. It is determined that the best strategy is to employ a hierarchy of countermeasures including regulatory countermeasures (prevention, deterrence, denial), passive countermeasures (detection and interruption) and active countermeasures (destruction). State of the art and current problems of possible countermeasures are analysed. The most promising LSS UAVs’ counteraction technologies are described. Most attention is paid to specialized sensors and modern active counteraction means, such as programmable air burst munition and high-energy laser systems.

Exploring the Impact of Differentiated Per-Lane Speed Limits on Traffic Safety of Freeways with Considering the Compliance Rate

This is a subsequent study of a two-lane cellular automata (CA) traffic simulation model proposed by the authors. The current study focused on understanding the impacts of the configuration of the differentiated per-lane speed limit (DPLSL) and its compliance rate on traffic safety indexes, including lane-changing frequency, the coefficient of variation of speed, and incident rate of dangerous situations. The results indicate that freeway sections with DPLSL, especially the ones with complex DPLSL, have potentials to reduce the speed variation, lane changing frequencies, and chances of dangerous situations, resulting in higher traffic safety levels. Furthermore, under DPLSL configurations, the compliance rate of the lane of slow vehicles could positively affect the traffic safety levels. Specifically, as the decrease of the compliance rate, lane changing frequency slightly increases, the coefficient variation of speed especially of the outer lane increases, and the incident rate of the overtaking-on-the-right circumstances increases. In contrast to the simple DPLSL, freeway segments with the complex DPLSL configuration are more sensitive to the influence of the compliance rate.

Learner driver on Mars

Keri Bean dreams of driving the solar system's slowest vehicle. She tells Daniel Cossins her fears that the stricken Opportunity rover won't wake up and why NASA has grief counsellors on speed-dial

Structural strength assessment of the reconstructed road structure in terms of the loading time and yield criterion

This article reports the results of numerical simulations of the stress-strain states in the rebuilt road structure compared to the solutions contained in the Polish Catalogue, with the true characteristics of the layer materials taken into account. In the case analysed, a cold-recycled base layer with foamed bitumen as a recycling agent was used. The presented analysis is complementary to the mandatory in Poland procedure of mechanistic pavement design based on a linear elastic model. The temperature distribution in the road structure was analysed at the reference temperature of 40°C on the asphalt layer surface. The loading time was included in the computer simulations through the use of the classic generalized Maxwell model and thus the stiffness-time history of the layers had to be determined. For this purpose, the dynamic modulus E* tests of the loading time frequency from 0.1 Hz to 20 Hz were carried out, and the yield point was modelled using the Coulomb-Mohr failure criterion calculated on the basis of triaxial compression tests. The analytical solution to the problem was found with ABAQUS. The results demonstrate that the high temperature of asphalt layers and long loading time noticeably reduces the stiffness modulus in those layers. That reduction changes the principal stress levels, which significantly influences the shear stress both in the recycled base layer and in the subgrade soil. Should the yield point be exceeded rapidly in the recycled layer, the horizontal stresses in the asphalt layers will increase and adversely affect the durability of the reconstructed road pavement structure, especially in the zones of slow heavy vehicle traffic.

СУЧАСНИЙ СТАН ТА ПРОБЛЕМИ ПРОТИДІЇ МАЛОВИСОТНИМ, НИЗЬКОШВИДКІСНИМ ТА МАЛОРОЗМІРНИМ БПЛА

In the article considered one of the most intensive developing threat for civilian and military spheres – hostile use of Low, Slow and Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (LSS UAVs). The classification of the LSS UAVs is given. World tendencies of hostile use of LSS UAVs – attack and ISR – are considered. Three categories of existing threats of using LSS UAVs are distinguished. Special attention is paid to the third category of threats, the main feature of which is a high level of training of the operator that can independently assemble Plug and Fly model using COTS or military technologies and finalizing its hardware and software tools for specific tasks. Main advantages and weak sides of LSS UAVs is distinguished. Determined that the best strategy is therefore to employ a hierarchy of countermeasures including regulatory (prevention, deterrence, denial), passive (detection and interruption) and active countermeasures (destruction). State of the art and current problems of possible countermeasures is analyzed. The most promising LSS UAVs` defeat technologies is described. Most attention is paid to specialized sensors and modern active defeat means such as programmable air burst munition (PABM) and high energy laser (HEL) systems.