EMC testing of double-jointed bus-cum-tram
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport already has a number of ‘people
movers’, small driverless buses that move travelers between on-site
locations. Motivated by the idea that something similar would be
ideal for urban transport, a consortium called Advanced Public
Transport Systems BV (APTS) has been created in Eindhoven. Its
members are bus manufacturers Berkhof-Jonckheere and BOVA,
specialist IT firm Simac and the Brabant Development Company. In
November 2003, the futuristic-looking vehicle was at KEMA for a
series of EMC tests. ‘Where does a bus lose most time?’ asks APTS’s Anton Klostermann
before answering his own question. ‘Stopping, waiting and pulling
off again, that’s where. At present, the average speed of a typical
bus running between a residential neighborhood on the edge of town
and the city center is about twelve miles an hour. We want to get
that up nearer twenty. At the same time, the idea is to bring the
stopping time down from thirty seconds to twelve.’ Another feature
of the APTS vehicle is that, in principle, the driver doesn’t have
to steer, brake or even push the gas pedal. Using bus lanes
wherever possible, the vehicle follows a pre-planned and programmed
route.
The Phileas is jam-packed with new technology and electronics. Of
course, if you have a ‘bus’ full of electronic gadgets, EMC tests
are vital. All kinds of problems could arise if, say, a mobile
phone could interfere with an on-board electronic system such as
the steering. At the end of November, the necessary tests were
successfully completed at KEMA’s facilities. So if you’ve got the
nerve to get on a ‘bus’ whose driver sometimessits with his hands
in his lap for several minutes at a stretch, Eindhoven is the place
to go.
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