---
title: "Vehicular automation"
chunk: 3/7
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_automation"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:24:39.053882+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Real-time testing of autonomous vehicles is an inevitable part of the process. At the same time, vehicular automation regulators are faced with challenges to protect public safety and yet allow autonomous vehicle companies to test their products. Groups representing autonomous vehicle companies are resisting most regulations, whereas groups representing vulnerable road users and traffic safety are pushing for regulatory barriers. To improve traffic safety, the regulators are encouraged to find a middle ground that protects the public from immature technology while allowing autonomous vehicle companies to test the implementation of their systems. Regulators face daunting challenges such as jurisdictional ambiguities, the rapid obsolescence of current technologies and the lack of future-looking cost-benefit data to support regulatory development.  There have also been proposals to adopt the aviation automation safety regulatory knowledge into the discussions of safe implementation of autonomous vehicles, due to the experience that has been gained over the decades by the aviation sector on safety topics.

== Ground vehicles ==

In some countries, specific laws and regulations apply to road traffic motor vehicles (such as cars, bus and trucks) while other laws and regulations apply to other ground vehicles such as tram, train or automated guided vehicles making them to operate in different environments and conditions.

=== Road traffic vehicles ===
An automated driving system is defined in a proposed amendment to Article 1 of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic:

(ab) "Automated driving system" refers to a vehicle system that uses both hardware and
software to exercise dynamic control of a vehicle on a sustained basis.(ac) "Dynamic control" refers to carrying out all the real-time operational and tactical functions required to move the vehicle. This includes controlling the vehicle's lateral and longitudinal motion, monitoring the road environment, responding to events in the road traffic environment, and planning and signalling for manoeuvres.
This amendment will enter into force on 14 July 2022, unless it is rejected before 13 January 2022.

An automated driving feature must be described sufficiently clearly so that it is distinguished from an assisted driving feature.
There are two clear states – a vehicle is either assisted with a driver being supported by technology or automated where the technology is effectively and safely replacing the driver.
Ground vehicles employing automation and teleoperation include shipyard gantries, mining trucks, bomb-disposal robots, robotic insects, and driverless tractors.
There are many autonomous and semi-autonomous ground vehicles being made for the purpose of transporting passengers. One such example is the free-ranging on grid (FROG) technology which consists of autonomous vehicles, a magnetic track and a supervisory system. The FROG system is deployed for industrial purposes in factory sites and has been in use since 1999 on the ParkShuttle, a PRT-style public transport system in the city of Capelle aan den IJssel to connect the Rivium business park with the neighboring city of Rotterdam (where the route terminates at the Kralingse Zoom metro station). The system experienced a crash in 2005 that proved to be caused by a human error.
Applications for automation in ground vehicles include the following:

Vehicle tracking system system ESITrack, Lojack.
Rear-view alarm, to detect obstacles behind.
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) (also Emergency Braking Assistance (EBA)), often coupled with Electronic brake force distribution (EBD), which prevents the brakes from locking and losing traction while braking. This shortens stopping distances in most cases and, more importantly, allows the driver to steer the vehicle while braking.
Traction control system (TCS) actuates brakes or reduces throttle to restore traction if driven wheels begin to spin.
Four wheel drive (AWD) with a centre differential. Distributing power to all four wheels lessens the chances of wheel spin. It also suffers less from oversteer and understeer.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) (also known for Mercedes-Benz proprietary Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Acceleration Slip Regulation (ASR) and Electronic differential lock (EDL)). Uses various sensors to intervene when the car senses a possible loss of control. The car's control unit can reduce power from the engine and even apply the brakes on individual wheels to prevent the car from understeering or oversteering.
Dynamic steering response (DSR) corrects the rate of power steering system to adapt it to vehicle's speed and road conditions.
Research is ongoing and prototypes of autonomous ground vehicles exist.

=== Cars ===

Extensive automation for cars focuses on either introducing robotic cars or modifying modern car designs to be semi-autonomous.
Semi-autonomous designs could be implemented sooner as they rely less on technology that is still at the forefront of research. An example is the dual mode monorail. Groups such as RUF (Denmark) and TriTrack (USA) are working on projects consisting of specialized private cars that are driven manually on normal roads but also that dock onto a monorail/guideway along which they are driven autonomously.
As a method of automating cars without extensively modifying the cars as much as a robotic car, Automated highway systems (AHS) aims to construct lanes on highways that would be equipped with, for example, magnets to guide the vehicles. Automation vehicles have auto-brakes named as Auto Vehicles Braking System (AVBS). Highway computers would manage the traffic and direct the cars to avoid crashes.
In 2006, The European Commission has established a smart car development program called the Intelligent Car Flagship Initiative. The goals of that program include:

Adaptive cruise control
Lane departure warning system
Project AWAKE for drowsy drivers
There are further uses for automation in relation to cars. These include: