Editor's Note - Fall '99
IV Quarterly Issue #3
October 1999

Things have heated up for intelligent vehicles within the U.S. Government, after a relatively quiet year or two: USDOT is embarking upon both its IVI field operational testing program and its product development effort with General Motors, spurred on by the National Transportation Safety Board’s targeting of  truck and bus safety.  At the same time, the thorny legal issues are being actively addressed, both in Europe and the States.

Articles in this issue focusing on Japan, Brazil, and the U.S. indicate that deployment of guided bus systems, supported by automation technology, is gaining momentum, with extensive deployment looking like just a matter of time.  Watch for coverage on similar implementations in the Netherlands and the U.S. in the IVQ Winter Issue.

And the U.S. military showed off what are probably the most advanced autonomous vehicles in existence at Demo Alpha in September, only the first of three annual demonstrations of steadily increasing capability.  The potential for spinoffs to highway vehicles is significant.

Looking back to July, Demo ’99 did what it was supposed to do — raise awareness of the current state-of-implementation of IV systems.  And next year’s demos look like they’re gonna knock our socks off.

Just another quarter in the IV world ....

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