Conception of the AVAS technology

The concept of an intelligent vehicle is based on organic approach to engineering systems. The essence of the approach lies in designing and producing such engineering systems that are created in accordance with principles and analogues in animate nature. During millions of years of evolution the world has accumulated enormous experience of creating evolutionary organic systems.

This experience and knowledge of animate nature may be formalized and used for human needs. Since an automobile is an integral part of man's environment, we believe that this environment should correspond to four principles:

• Individuality and variability;
• Harmony and unity of man and environment;
• Artificial and organic environment;
• Man's freedom and safety.

Individuality-variability

Every living organism has unique characteristics but it has the ability to change them widely. Variability as a system's functional component is widely spread in animate nature. For living organisms it's a question of survival in the highly changeable world. Living organisms instantly change their color, shape, speed, energy distribution and other parameters depending on environmental influence and needs.

Individuality as a characteristic depends on the set of systems and functions inherent by nature in every species and critical for its survival and evolution. Abilities for adaptation are also a part of species' individuality.

Variability as a characteristic evolves under several conditions: information from all sources should be available at any point; its processing should take minimal time; many processes should proceed simultaneously and concertedly with each other.

Along with technical systems, an automobile should possess salient individuality and adaptive capabilities to quick changes. Vehicle mechatronic* units provide opportunities for adaptation and change. A new vehicle control system, as in nature, should have the following features:

• commonness and availability of information at any point;
• be able to simultaneously control several processes and systems;
• provide an opportunity of fast and faultless data processing;
• implement ultraspeed processes (reflection);
• be flexible in a wide range of characteristics.

Along with the listed characteristics, AVAS can combine different combinations of units as well as new and existing systems in convenient service systems. For instance, the same automobile can be used as a sports car for an experienced driver and a "teenager" car for his child. In that case, speed limit function and driving fault correction take place.

AVAS technology's potential allows an automobile to react to environmental changes as quickly and accurately as in nature. The valuable fact is that all automobile systems and units can simultaneously react to environmental changes.

* Mechatronic units are units with changeable and programmable parameters.

Harmony and unity of man and environment

Man as part of animate nature has needs common for all living beings and his evolutional development has led to the fact that human needs and wishes have been changing widely. The need to live in harmony with nature is a powerful motivating factor which forces us to buy things, build houses, plant trees, have pets in our homes. Harmony is not something constant; it appears and disappears with time.

If one applies these considerations to material objects it becomes clear that a person buys a new car because his old one doesn't bring him a sense of satisfaction, pride and harmony anymore. For harmonious environment it is necessary that a wide range of automobile characteristics would serve a large amount of human needs.

A new control system should satisfy changing needs and provide freedom of choice to a man from vehicle features and characteristics. Main characteristics of such system:

• intelligence of the whole system and vehicle nodes;
• large amount of memory and system's computing capacity;
• dynamic configuring, downloading and alteration of the system;
• wide range of functions and features;
• possibility of upgrading.

AVAS technology allows to develop intelligent environment adaptable to external conditions and fulfilling man's needs. AVAS IT technologies and products enable the creation of customized automobiles with an individual set of functions. Eventually they can be changed, so that a consumer can receive a multitude of different vehicles on a single basis. With AVAS, harmony can appear again and again.

Artificial and organic environment

The process of evolution justifies viability of organic species as effectively functioning systems. The paradox is that artificial systems created by man are less effective and often do harm to the environment.

In itself a large number of intelligent but poorly interconnected mechatronic units and systems does not result in new automobile capacities. For a long time vehicle evolution has been taking place extensively when every new system was added to an automobile without qualitative change in it.

A new control system should be able to concertedly serve a variety of vehicle systems, their sensors and executing mechanisms. Coordination of all systems in an automobile leads to the fact that many informational, computing and controlling processes should proceed simultaneously. General characteristics of a new control system:

• coordination of systems by a ubiquitous digital technology;
• parallel and synchronized processes;
• quick and reliable communication of systems with each other;
• ubiquitous communication and control standards;
• common computing environment and software.

Integration of all units and systems in the AVAS technology allows to create an automobile with new characteristics and a large intelligence. Availability of vehicle information in any necessary system enables the designing of high-tech systems in an automobile. For instance, the engine can "see" external environment and "feel" road pavement. Aggregate intelligence allows to compare thousands of automobile parameters and "think" and react faster and better than a man.

Man’s freedom and safety

Throughout their lives a lot of living organisms are getting over thousands of miles adapting to environmental changes and constant movement and they are free in this regard. An automobile fulfills the task of giving a man the freedom of movement using minimum time and maximum convenience and safety.

A new control system should enlarge the freedom of movement due to the increase of informational exchange between an automobile and environment. Telematic functions from being mere reference information can transform into important movement parameters.

Correlation of navigational and weather forecast information with existing internal parameters and vehicle resources allow to drive at an optimal operation mode. Safety functions can be programmed in a "reflex" vehicle memory as an instinct of self-preservation.

The main functions of a new control system for the movement:

• utilizing of "external" informational resources for the movement;
• ultraspeed safety functions (self-preservation reflexes);
• increase in safety due to connection of additional systems and mobilization of resources of all vehicle systems for saving passengers' lives;
lowering of a driver's stress;
• autopiloting.

As in nature, AVAS technology plays the role of a nervous system of an organism that promptly reacts to changes in environment and to man's needs. The technology allows to design multifunctional units combining different characteristics and functions. Combination of optimal operation modes with a multilevel safety system in AVAS enables the improvement of vehicle features.

Summary

The conception of a new vehicle control system brings modern automobiles closer to their organic analogs. Utilizing the latest achievements in the digital technologies, electronics and software in AVAS serves this notion.

Synthesis of the AVAS technology with high-tech achievements and products in an automobile creates the ground for a technological breakthrough and transition of vehicle technologies to a new level. AVAS technology forms the basis for developing an "organic" automobile-friend and an automobile-assistant filled with love and respect for his owner.