DREAM MACHINES
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Which brings us to the smartway. Of all the technologies on our morning commute, none is more tentative than this -- and none has the potential to change our lives so much, which is why the U.S. government continues to throw more than $1 billion at the id
ea every year. You will find smartway-capable testing grounds all over the place -- in San Diego, Chelsea, Mich., and Nagano, Japan. The smart-road project set to be completed this summer in Blacksburg, Va., comprises two miles of a real interstate and a
self-healing fiber-optic data-collection network. Magnetic tape in the middle of the lane and the edge of the road aid automatic steering. And for added realism, the smartway supervisors can supply up to 4 in. of snow and 2 in. of rain. "If you want to te
st how automated vehicles would work in a blizzard," says Ray Pethel, a transportation fellow at Virginia Tech, "we can do that. We've got 500 hours of snowmaking under contract next year."
What makes the Virginia smartway unique besides the wet and white stuff is the fact that it's open to commercial testing-and one step closer to a solution. "Twenty years or so down the road," says Pethel, "you're likely to see something similar to an hov
lane set aside primarily for vehicles with some kind of automation." Which is good news for all of us, boy racers and migraine sufferers alike, because automation is the only way we're going to get rid of that 20th century scourge known as the traffic jam
.
So, sit back. Relax. Tell Jeeves to fire up the Mozart. Your driving experience is about to become faster, safer and a heck of a lot more fun. Your chances of falling asleep at the wheel -- as if sleep were possible with the kids playing video games in th
e back and your e-mail blaring in the front -- will be greatly reduced too, thanks to optical-detection technology. At the first sign of droopy eyelids and dilating pupils, your car will offer either a refreshing sonic blast or a reminder to pull over and
take a nap. With ultimately three options for directions -- get them from the computer, get them from a human or watch them unfurl on a HUD map -- you're less likely to get lost again. The hybrid-electric engine, a 70-m.p.g. combination of diesel and ele
ctric power set to make its debut in the U.S. this year, should take care of most of our green guilt.
On your commute of 20 years hence, what is there left to worry about? Only the trip home. After all, the shadows are getting pretty long when you leave work, and two-thirds of all road accidents take place after dark. But this too is something you've got
covered. Another tap on the steering-wheel control pad, and the HUD transforms into a Gulf War-style thermal-imaging display, better known as Night Vision. Without taking your eyes off the road, you've got an extra image of what's ahead, an image that goe
s 10 times as deep as your own flashlights. Cool things -- trees, asphalt-show up dark; hot things -- pedestrians, cyclists, deer -- appear in a brilliant, luminous white. And there's an added bonus when you make it back to the homestead: no need to have
the place light up automatically like a Christmas tree from the outside. If there were an intruder lurking in the bushes or attempting to pry open a window, your Night Vision would catch him, clear as day. With your house safeguarded, all your AutoPC has
to do is tell your hall light to switch on and ask the oven to start this evening's roast. This is total comfort and security, 21st century style. Welcome home.
