AUTOMATIC VEHICLE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS (FROM CARNAHAN CONFERENCE ON ELECTRONIC CRIME COUNTERMEASURES, 1972 PROCEEDINGS, BY J S JACKSON AND R W DEVORE - SEE NCJ-10711)

• NCJ Number: 27917
• Author(s): C E WILENT
• Date Published: 1972
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: University of Kentucky; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS AUTOMATED VEHICLE MONITORING SYSTEM IS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR FIXED-ROUTE SYSTEMS, WHERE THE VEHICLES TO BE MONITORED ARE CONSTRAINED TO OPERATE ON A KNOWN GROUP OF STREETS.

Abstract

POSITION DETERMINATION IN A NETWORK OF FIXED PATHS MAY BE THOUGHT OF AS A 'PIECE-WISE ONE DIMENSIONAL' NAVIGATION PROBLEM. SO LONG AS THE VEHICLE IS ON A KNOWN PATH, ITS PROGRESS ALONG THE PATH REPRESENTS A SINGLE DEGREE OF FREEDOM. AT INTERSECTIONS WITH OTHER PATHS, A DECISION MUST BE MADE BETWEEN ALTERNATIVE PATH CHANGES. ONCE THE TRANSITION IS MADE TO A NEW PATH, THE NAVIGATION PROBLEM IS AGAIN ONE DIMENSIONAL. IN ORDER TO MAKE USE OF THIS CONCEPT, THE OPERATING AREA MUST BE SIMULATED BY STORING A 'ROAD MAP' IN THE COMPUTER PROGRAM. PATH CHANGES SENSED BY CAR-BORNE INSTRUMENTS WILL BE CORRELATED WITH THE COMPUTER MAP TO PRODUCE OPTIMUM ESTIMATES OF VEHICLE POSITION. THE VEHICLE-BORNE SENSORS WILL CONSIST OF AN ODOMETER FOR MEASURING DISTANCE ALONG A PATH, AND A TURN SENSOR, THE NATURE OF WHICH WILL BE DISCUSSED IN SUBSEQUENT PARAGRAPHS. DATA FROM THE TURN SENSOR WILL BE USED TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN ALTERNATIVE PATH CHANGES. BY MAKING USE OF THE CORRELATION TECHNIQUE, IT IS POSSIBLE TO DERIVE VEHICLE POSITION ACCURATELY WITH A MINIMUM OF MEASURED DATA. A BURDEN IS SHIFTED AWAY FROM NAVIGATION HARDWARE TOWARD THE DATA PROCESSING SOFTWARE. THIS TRADE-OFF OF HARDWARE TO SOFTWARE COMPLEXITY IS SHOWN TO BE COST EFFECTIVE, PARTICULARLY FOR THE SMALL FLEET USER. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)