Title:

A system for automobile traffic control from a centralized source

Objective:

To design a system whereby automobile traffic may be efficiently directed at 
high speeds from a centralized computer system. The system will be able to 
control traffic equipped with automobiles that respond to a basic command set, 
and direct them to their destinations in a timely fashion.

Justification:

Currently, thousands of people die each year in traffic accidents. Most of 
these deaths are due to inebriation, distraction, or stupidity. If the highway 
were in control of every car, not only would the vast majority of these 
accidents be avoided, but people would also be able to reach their destinations
more quickly. Cars could move at a much faster speed safely, without ever 
needing to slow down. The gap between cars could also be made much smaller, 
allowing major roadways to accomodate more cars at a time. Eventually, the 
system could be expanded to include smaller roadways, and human driving could 
become a thing of the past.

Description:

I plan to design a computer simulation of a highway controlling the cars on it. 
I will code each car as an independent object, accepting commands from the 
centralized transmitter. Each car will have its own set of parameters, such as 
response time, length, and so forth, each of which will (initially) be within 
a customizable tolerance. Later, when the system itself is able to route 
traffic to its proper destination without collisions, I will begin to introduce
"malfunctions" -- cars that are outside of the "acceptable" range in one way 
or another, or break down mid-trip or otherwise cause trouble. I will program 
in contigencies and a semi-adaptive AI to allow the highway to handle such 
errors in the safest, most efficient possible method.

Limitations:

A physical implementation of this project is not possible with the resources 
currently available. Because of this, the system will remain a simulation, and 
not involve any hardware work. In addition, the control of larger traffic 
simulations will require intensive computational work, must likely 
necessitating the use of more than one computer at a time to run the simulation
in a reasonable amount of time.
This system will NOT be designed to handle every possible type of roadway - 
only major freeway/highway environments will be simulated.