A reference model architecture for intelligent vehicle and highway systems

The real-time control system (RCS), reference model architecture for intelligent control systems has been used for the design and implementation of a wide variety of intelligent systems applications. The RCS reference model architecture defines hierarchical heterogeneous layers of control. Each layer has characteristic timing and bandwidth of sensory processing and servo control loops. Each layer also has characteristic range and resolution of world model maps, and characteristic spatial-temporal range and resolution of goals and plans. Each layer consists of one or more computational nodes, and each node contains sensory processing, world modeling, and task decomposition modules. These modules are interconnected within the nodes and the nodes are interconnected within and between layers by a communications system that provides database services and message passing functions. The RCS reference model is currently being used as a control system architecture for the US Army/Marine Corps unmanned ground vehicle Robotics Testbed vehicle. This paper suggests how the RCS reference model architecture might be adopted for the design of advanced vehicle control systems, and for advanced traffic management systems, and for advanced traveler information systems