Observing preceding vehicles

8 The distances and closing rates to preceding vehicles can be measured by a radar or a laser rangefinder. Both technologies have already been implemented in commercially available systems in Japan and Europe. The laser systems are currently less expensive, but the radar systems are more effective at detecting dirty vehicles and operating in adverse weather conditions. As production volumes increase and unit costs decrease, the radars are likely to find increasing favor.
留意前行車輛

與前行車輛的車距及接近時的速度可用雷達或激光測距儀測定。這兩項技術已經在日本和歐洲投入商業運用。目前激光系統比較便宜，但雷達系統能更加有效地測知野蠻行駛的車輛，能更加安全地在天氣惡劣時操作。隨著產量的提高，成本的降低，雷達系統將會越來越受歡迎。

Steering, accelerating and braking

9 The equivalents of these driver muscle functions are electromechanical devices installed in the automated vehicle. They receive electronic commands from the onboard control computer and then apply the appropriate steering angle, throttle angle, and brake pressure by means of small electric motors. Early versions of these devices are already being introduced into production of vehicles, where they receive their commands directly from the driver's inputs to the steering wheel and pedals. These decisions are being made for reasons largely unrelated to automation. Rather they are associated with reduced energy consumption, simplification of vehicle design, enhanced ease of vehicle assembly, improved ability to adjust performance to match driver preferences, and cost savings compared to traditional direct mechanical control devices.
掌握方向、加速和剎車

相當于車輛駕駛者肌功能的是安置在自動車輛上的電動機械裝置。它們接收車上計算機控制臺發出的電子指令，再憑借小型電力發動機恰當地控制方向、油門大小以及剎車緊急程度。車輛生產已經采用這類裝置的最初樣本，它們通過駕駛者給方向盤和踏板的輸入信息直接獲得指令。決定開發這類產品大都與自動化無關。與之有關的因素有降低能耗、簡化車輛設計、進一步提高車輛裝配效率、改善根據車輛駕駛者的喜好調節性能的能力，以及低于傳統的機械直控裝置的成本等。

Deciding when and where to change course

10 Computers in the vehicles and those at the roadside have different functions. Roadside computers are better suited for traffic management, setting the target speed for each segment and lane of roadway, and allocating vehicles to different lanes of a multilane automated facility. The aim is to maintain balanced flow among the lanes and to avoid obstacles or incidents that might block a lane. The vehicle's onboard computers are better suited to handling decisions about exactly when and where to change lanes to avoid interference with other vehicles.
決定何時何處變道

車用計算機與路邊裝置的計算機功能不同。路邊設置的計算機更適用于交通管理，如為不同路段和車道設定限速，通過多車道自動化設施為車輛安排不同的車道。其目的是使各車道的車流量保持平衡，避免可能堵塞車道的障礙或事故。車用計算機更適用于精確地判斷在什么時間和位置改變車道，以避免與其他車輛碰撞。

Remaining challenges

11 There remain a number of difficulties to be overcome. These are mainly technical, but there are in addition a number of nontechnical challenges that need to be addressed. These involve issues of liability, costs, and perceptions.
尚存的挑戰

尚有許多困難有待克服。主要是技術性難題，但此外也有不少非技術性的挑戰需要面對，其中包括行車責任、成本以及觀念等問題。

12 Automated control of vehicles shifts liability for most crashes from the individual driver (and his or her insurance company) to the designer, developer, and vendor of the vehicle and roadway control systems. Provided the system is indeed safer than today's driver-vehicle-highway system, overall liability exposure should be reduced. But its costs will be shifted from automobile insurance premiums to the purchase or lease price of the automated vehicle and toll for use of the automated highway facility.
車輛的自動控制把大多數事故的責任從車輛駕駛者個人（及其保險公司）轉移到設計者、研制者以及車輛和道路控制系統的經銷商身上。如果這一系統的確比當今的車輛駕駛者—車輛—公路系統安全，總體責任風險就會減少。但其成本會從汽車保險金轉移到自動車輛的售價或租金，以及自動公路設施的使用費上來。

13 All new technologies tend to be costly when they first become available in small quantities, then their costs decline as production volumes increase and the technologies mature. We should expect vehicle automation technologies to follow the same pattern. They may initially be economically viable only for heavy vehicles (transit buses, commercial trucks) and high-end passenger cars. However, it should not take long for the costs to become affordable to a wide range of vehicle owners and operators, especially with many of the enabling technologies already being commercialized for volume production today.
任何新技術在最初小批量供應時都相對昂貴，以后隨著產量的增長與技術的完善，成本就會降低。我們相信車輛自動控制技術也將遵循這一模式。從經濟角度考慮，這類技術在最初階段或許只能應用于重型車輛（如公交車、貨運卡車）和高級客車。然而，不用多久，其成本就能為廣大車輛擁有者和駕駛者所接受，尤其是目前不少可以應用的技術已經走向市場，開始了批量生產。

14 The largest impediment to introduction of electronic chauffeuring may turn out to be the general perception that it's more difficult and expensive to implement than it really is. If political and industrial decision makers perceive automated driving to be too futuristic, they will not pay it the attention it deserves and will not invest their resources toward accelerating its deployment. The perception could thus become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
電子駕駛應用的最大障礙可能在于一種普遍的觀念，認為這一技術的應用比實際情況更困難，更昂貴。如果政治決策者和企業決策者認為自動駕駛過于超前，他們就不會予以應有的關注，就不會投入資源，促使其早日為人們利用。這樣的話，這一觀念就可能成為一種終將實現的預言。

15 It is important to recognize that automated vehicles are already carrying millions of passengers every day. Most major airports have automated people movers that transfer passengers among terminal buildings. Urban transit lines in Paris, London, Vancouver, Lyon, and Lille, among others, are operating with completely automated, driverless vehicles; some have been doing so for more than a decade. Modern commercial aircraft operate on autopilot for much of the time, and they also land under automatic control at suitably equipped airports on a regular basis.
重要的是，要看到，每天已有千百萬人乘坐自動化車輛。大多數頗具規模的機場都有自動控制的客車把乘客從一個航站樓轉到另一個航站樓。不少城市公交線路，如巴黎、倫敦、溫哥華、里昂和里爾等，都是由全自動控制的無人駕駛車輛運行的，有些已運行了十多年。現代商用飛機大多時間是由自動駕駛儀操縱的，在裝備完善的機場，這些飛機一向在自動控制指揮下著陸。

16 Given all of this experience in implementing safe automated transportation systems, it is not such a large leap to develop road vehicles that can operate under automatic control. That should be a realistic goal for the next decade. The transportation system will thus gain substantial benefits from the revolution in information technology.
考慮到所有這些安全運用自動化交通運輸系統的經驗，開發由自動控制操縱的公路車輛算不上什么大的飛躍。這應該是未來十年中的一個現實目標，交通運輸系統也就會大大得益于信息技術革命。