The smart car

Two generations have passed since KITT’s first appearance, but the idea of a super robotized car, capable of taking decisions by itself and that provides comfort to its passengers is still valid and desired.

Parodia Electronica, a company whose headquarters are in Milan, revealed a new software solution which enables the servo commands of the navigational system to activate an electro-hydraulic mechanism that operates the direction, similar to the automatic pilot used by yachts. This application has already been installed on several urban automobiles and was successfully tested in southern regions of Italy.

The GPS guiding system installed on these cars was improved so that it can use positioning data generated by the differential GPS (dGSPS). This system uses a set of trigonometric corrections that improve the calculations and positioning provided by the satellite. The accuracy of this guiding system is so good that it allowed the continuous tracking of the position of the cars within a 50 centimeters margin of error.

The front tires have been disengaged from the direction of the car because the software solution is able to control the direction even through a test circuit with fixed points. The presence of the steering wheel becomes unnecessary, but it hasn’t been removed because it might confuse other drivers that see a car which is steered by… nobody or whose driver sleeps quietly.

The steering wheel was also kept in case of unexpected situations, so that the driver can intervene and control the vehicle. The car is also equipped with a fast disengaging system of the automatic pilot, which is activated by simply pushing a pedal.

Even though all the test were successful, the inclusion of these systems into cars remains in the project stage, and the police and other authorities will need more time to approve such a project.