The growing importance of electronics and ‘intelligent’ technology has influenced not only vehicles, but is also transforming the roads they are driven on, resulting in Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITSs). In Japan, government and private industry have cooperated to make ITSs³ a reality. These new systems include VICS⁴, offering high-performance navigation and a variety of information services and ETC⁵ systems for highway tollbooths. In the future, in addition to vehicle-mounted radar devices, such vehicle-to-roadside communication facilities as electromagnetic ‘markers’ and AHS⁶ systems including leaky coaxial cables will make roads safer by providing warnings to drivers of dangerous conditions.
Katsutoshi Ito explains, “Vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication and coordination will leverage such features as lane deviance warnings and control of distance between vehicles to enable much safer driving than with single-vehicle safety systems. The ultimate goal of the AHS project is research and development with a view to making automatic driving possible.”
The automobile industry is currently experiencing two major innovative revolutions. The first in the area of fuel, with the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy and the second in the area of information telecommunication and processing, with the surprising advances in electronics. During its 120-year history, from its invention in the 19th century, the automobile has undergone a truly astonishing evolutionary process, becoming cleaner, safer, and more intelligent than previously thought possible.

*3	ITS = Intelligent Transport Systems
*4	VICS = Vehicle Information and Communication System
*5	ETC = Electronic Toll Collection System
*6	AHS = Advanced Cruise-Assist Highway System