首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Smart Cars, Intelligent Highways Smart features of cars today Cars today are smart. No, they may not be smart enough to
Smart Cars, Intelligent Highways Smart features of cars today Cars today are smart. No, they may not be smart enough to
admin
2010-03-26
34
问题
Smart Cars, Intelligent Highways
Smart features of cars today
Cars today are smart. No, they may not be smart enough to change their own oil or find the lost coins in their seats, but they are smart and getting smarter. The average car today has more computing power than the 1969 Apollo 11 spacecraft that carried the first astronauts to the moon. Every car produced today has at least one computer for monitoring fuel consumption and pollution controls, The average car uses twelve computerized devices, and high-end cars have many more, controlling everything from the sunroof to the braking system. In the near future, cars may be virtually stuffed with computer chips from front fender to taillight. That’s because motorists enjoy computerized gadgets(器具), and providing these little devices is cheaper for automakers than building a better engine or making other engineering changes that might actually be more important.
Many of the smart features we are seeing today are safety-related. Some are systems to avoid collisions. These may use sonar, radar, lasers, computers, or video cameras, or some combination of these. These systems beep or warn drivers with a voice signal if the vehicle gets too close to an object or another vehicle or if it strays out of its lane. The system can suggest actions to the driver or even temporarily take control to avoid accidents. Another safety device is a smart airbag system. To deploy airbags with the minimum necessary force, sensors determine an occupant’s weight and size and the severity of impact. This system should reduce the number of children hurt by airbags that open too vigorously. Another system can automatically notify emergency services that an accident has happened and, using a Global Positioning System (GPS), can pinpoint the location of the vehicle for police and rescue units. This "mayday(呼救信号)system" can save precious minutes and many lives.
One of the most convenient aspects of smart cars is their ability to navigate. Drivers tell them where they want to go and then, by means of a GPS navigation device and computerized maps, smart cars can figure out the best ways to reach the drivers’ destinations. The cars can show the information on a map or give drivers voice directions. They can even correct drivers if they make a mistake ("I TOLD you to turn LEFT back there; you idiot!"). Using communication devices connected to the Internet, cars can inform drivers of problems ahead construction work, traffic jams, and accidents — and then suggest different routes to the drivers’ offices, favorite pizza places, or closest shopping malls.
Problems existed
Smart cars create problems as well, however. One problem is how to control all this automotive technology. More buttons take more of the drivers’ attention. Even voice controls are distracting for drivers. A recent study showed that drivers talking on handheld cell phones were four times more likely to be involved in accidents as drivers who were not. In fact, drivers using cell phones were almost as likely to be involved in accidents as those who were legally intoxicated(醉酒的). Using voice controls, even a hands-free system, might prove to be as distracting as chatting on the phone. Nevertheless, the auto industry’s answer to the control problem so far has been voice control. When it comes to simple tasks -- changing channels on the radio or opening the trunk -- voice controls work well enough. But it is probably not the best method for directing more difficult operations such as navigating the Internet or controlling the car itself. Engine noise, highway noise, and the music on the stereo tend to garble(扭曲) instructions, and voice recognition systems often cannot decipher(识别) strong accents.
Intelligent roadways — a potential solution?
No matter how smart cars become, they cannot solve all the problems facing a "car-crazy" world by themselves. Anyone who has traveled by car in or around almost any city in the world knows that the problem of traffic congestion is becoming worse every year. Cars, buses, and trucks caught up in the chronic traffic jams in the cities waste vast amounts of fuel and pour pollution into the atmosphere. Then there are the terrible statistics for highway fatalities. In the United States alone, over 40,000 people die a year. Around the world, it is believed that between 800,000 and 1.15 million perish in automobile accidents annually. Some transportation planners believe that better mass transportation is the answer — more monorails, subways, and bullet trains. Other analysts believe that there will always be a demand for the convenience and independence of private automobiles. The traditional solution has been to simply build more roads. However, another solution lies in self-driving vehicles operating on automated "intelligent" roadways.
What is an "intelligent" roadway? One type of automated highway features one or more lanes on which vehicles with special sensors and communications systems can travel completely under computer control. The vehicles follow each other at closely spaced intervals in groups called "platoons." (Some lanes would also have to be open to conventional cars.) Vehicles in platoons traveling on the automated lanes would be temporarily linked into communications networks. These vehicles could then constantly exchange information about speed, acceleration, braking, and so on. To keep vehicles in their lanes and control their speed and direction, cars might use magnemeters, devices that sense magnets buried in the roadbed. One expert has said that the typical highway lane today can handle 2,000 vehicles per hour but estimated that an intelligent highway lane could accommodate up to 6,000 vehicles, depending on the number of entrances and exits.
The technology required to operate an automated highway already exists and has been tested, on a stretch of San Diego Expressway, a platoon of seven smart Buick LaSabres traveled on a lane of intelligent highway. The cars tailgated one another about S meters apart at around 105 kilometers per hour. The drivers sat back and sipped their lattes(拿铁咖啡) They said that traveling that fast and that close together with no control was exciting and a little frightening at first, but that, in a short time, it became rather humdrum(乏味的).
Still a long way to go
But don’t plan to have your car chauffeur you to work any time soon. For one thing, the cost would be staggering. Even equipping one lane of traffic on the busiest urban expressways with the necessary technology would be too expensive to do in the near future. Installing the required equipment on cars would also add thousands of dollars to the cost of new cars. Besides, many people would not trust self-driven cars. Much of the public has a warped sense of risk. Some people hesitate to fly even though studies show that flying is safer than driving. That’s because every plane crash is highly publicized, while individual automobile accidents are not. Similarly, although automated cars would certainly be safer than standard cars, when an accident occurred it would probably involve hundreds of deaths and injuries. Even a few such accidents would probably cause the public to call for the closing of automated roads.
At the beginning the passengers in the self-driven cars tested in San Diego felt ______.
选项
答案
excited and a little frightened
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/mZk7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
ItisnowalmosttwoyearssincetheEuropeanUniondecidedtogoaheadwithplanstolaunchasatellite-navigationnetworktor
A、Themanshouldbuyamealticketeverymonth.B、Individualspaydifferentlyforthesamemeal.C、Buyingthemealticketwon’t
Accordingtotheauthor,educationissuretobelimitedtoacertainscopewithouttheuseofmedia.Studentscanturntometh
A、Becausechildrenmayuselessmoneyinforeignlanguagelearning.B、Becausechildrenmayserveinthegovernmentintilefutur
A、Toknowwhethertheyreadthebookorwhethertheyunderstandthebook.B、Asacommonhomeassignment.C、Tohelpimprovetheir
WhoshowedLangLanghowtocontrolthekeys?WhathappenedafterLangLangstartedstudyingwiththesecondpianoteacher?
Studentswhoareinterestedin______aremostUNLIKELYtotakethiscourse?Thispassageisthetranscriptofaspeechmostprob
A、4,000-5,000.B、50-60,000.C、500-600.D、5,000-6,000.DHowmanyyearsagodidclock-makingcomeintoexistence?此题考查听细节的能力。只要抓
A、Memoriesofarecentstorm.B、Howstrongwindsdevelopintoahurricane.C、WeatherpatternsthatcanaffectFlorida.D、Plannin
A、Hehasacold.B、Hehastheflu.C、Hehasastomachache.D、Hehasatoothache.A
随机试题
今测得一组质量数据为42克、42克、43克、45克、46克、46克。则这一组数据的中位数是()
求函数f(x,y)=ln(xy2+x)的梯度gradf(x,y).
头颅正位像标准显示不包括
根据《选举法》的规定,关于选举机构,下列哪一选项是不正确的?(2011年试卷一第25题)
结构性通货膨胀可包括( )。
2009年底,某市从业人员总量达到201.3万人,比2005年底增加109.2万人,全市从业人员占全市总人口的比重为78.5%。同时,人员素质显著提高,全市国有企事业单位专业技术人员从2005年的8.1万人增加到2009年的16.8万人。2005年到200
“西湖十景”每两个景目相对,其中与“断桥残雪”相对的是()。
关于学生的认知能力,下列说法不正确的是()。
“根据认识的基本规律,在编排课程体系时,应遵循理论和实践相结合的原则.”试解释这句话的含义,并说明理论和实践相互结合的具体要求.
从所给的四个选项中,选择最合适的一个填入问号处,使图形呈现一定的规律性。()
最新回复
(
0
)