Question:
It seems that Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is becoming the tide of the times. Would you tell us why you started the study of ITS at MIT?
I was engaged in the study of Factory Automation (FA) sensing at a Japanese heavy industrial machinery manufacturer originally. The purpose of that study was to operate manufacturing lines automatically by processing image data from a camera. In the early 1980's, I chose the automobile industry in order to make better use of this technology, and joined the General Motors (GM) Research Laboratories in Detroit. Regarding the history of ITS, I think it can be divided into three parts: preparation time, feasibility study time, and implementation time. In the preparation time, only a few people were engaged in ITS. For example, beacon experimentation started in the 1930's, and automatic test drive experimentation using radar started in the 1950's. The transition from preparation time to feasibility time is marked by the joint industry-government Prometheus Project in Europe that incorporated sophisticated optical image processing for road scene analysis. During this time both the quality and quantity of ITS study were expanded. It was during this time that I moved to GM. In 1994, I moved to MIT to explore the broader implications of ITS.
Improving safety, efficiency of
transportation, and comfort
Creating new businesses
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
The objective of ITS is to improve the safety, efficiency and comfort of transportation by enhancing the functionality of cars and roads using information technology. At the same time, ITS offers environmental safeguards through smoother traffic flow by decreasing traffic jams, etc.
ITS attracts attention as a new business field. Elements like in-car navigation, automated traffic control, and automated toll booth systems are already in operation.
