AUTOMATED HIGHWAY STUDIES AT THE OHIO STATE-UNIVERSITY - AN OVERVIEW

An ambitious, long-range program on various aspects of automated highway operations was conducted at The Ohio State University (OSU) from 1964 to 1980. This program included studies on headway safety policy; longitudinal control; lateral control; highway system operations. The principal emphasis was the design and development of reference system/controllers for both longitudinal and lateral vehicle control. Related activities ranged from the theoretical development of control concepts to their realization and field testing. The policy and system operation studies both guided the vehicle control activities and provided overall program direction. These resulted in a requirement for a 6.4-km, automated vehicle control facility which was almost completed when this work was terminated in 1980. The highlights of these efforts are contained herein.