Built-in intelligence in cars increases road safety and makes driving simpler. Developments in this field are the focal point of a three-day international symposium on Intelligent Vehicles, from 4 to 6 June at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). The symposium hosts around 400 researchers from universities, research institutes and the automotive industry, who share their knowledge. On Friday 6 June a demonstration of more than 30 state-of-the-art intelligent vehicles will be held. This event is public and free of charge.

Vehicles including not only cars but also motor cycles and trucks have ever-increasing numbers of advanced sensors and functions – for example to improve both road safety and convenience for the driver. Electronic systems support the driver, but can also allow vehicles to communicate with each other or even to drive fully automatically. This is not only safer, it also allows better use to be made of the available roads. Very important because the main highways in the Netherlands are becoming increasingly congested, creating a lot of annoyance and costing the economy billions.

Recent results
The Intelligent Vehicles Symposium 2008 (IV2008) at TU/e brings together international researchers from universities, automotive companies and public organizations to exchange recent research results on intelligent vehicles. Among the subjects to be discussed are the use of image-processing technology and communication systems that contribute to increasing the safety of vehicle drivers and passengers. For example one of the systems to be presented can automatically recognize pedestrians. Another topic is the development of electronic information systems to inform drivers about the safety of the vehicle and the optimal fuel consumption.

Hundreds of experts
The Netherlands plays an important international role in developing and demonstrating these intelligent technologies in vehicles. Hundreds of experts are working on national and international projects, and this is one of the reasons why this year’s symposium is being held in the Netherlands. Eindhoven is an excellent location for this purpose, because the region is home to numerous companies in the automotive field, as well as knowledge and educational institutes.

Demo vehicles
On Friday 6 June one of Eindhoven’s most important traffic arteries, the Kennedylaan, will be closed to normal traffic. This four-lane road will then provide a testing environment for more than 30 demonstration vehicles from different international universities and companies. These include for example solar-powered vehicles, as well as vehicles that can find their way completely autonomously through a city. An ‘anti-crash’ system using laser and short-range radar technology will also be demonstrated.

IV2008 is organized annually under the auspices of IEEE, the worldwide Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This year’s event is being organized by the TU Eindhoven, the University of Twente, Delft University of Technology, TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) and the Automotive Technology Centre. For more information, see www.iv2008.nl.