This paper discusses a field experiment confirming a new approach to multiple vehicle identification in longitudinal ranging systems. A longitudinal ranging system here is defined as a system which measures relative positions and directions of preceding vehicles using a pair of infrared beacons and a CCD camera. By synchronising the ranging system operation with the inter-vehicle communication system, it is possible to identify each vehicle and to measure the relative positioning of each vehicle despite the presence of multiple preceding vehicles. Four vehicles, each mounted with a pair of infrared beacons, a CCD camera, an image processing unit and a communication system were used in this experiment. It is confirmed that ranging and multiple vehicle identification were possible even while the formation of the vehicles was changing.
Samenvatting