Automatic route control system

The Automatic Route Control System (ARCS) is a self-contained on-board system that directs the operation of a conventional motor vehicle over predetermined routes and controls activities (such as the delivery or pickup of items) performed along the route. In effect, the system continuously measures the vehicle´s location coordinates, compares these with the route coordinates, and then issues audio, visual, and/or printed instructions appropriate to the location. The system also detects driver errors and prescribes corrective action. The routes to be followed and the actions to be taken are defined on interchangeable magnetic tape cartridges, which may be updated daily or as required from a computerized central file. ARCS enables a driver to operate efficiently over a complex route without reference to maps or lists and without prior knowledge of the route. It also eliminates tedious manual report preparation because computer-ready data for route accounting can be acquired on a magnetic tape cartridge. Although applicable to most types of operations carried out over routes that can be defined in advance, the prototype application is for the delivery of newspapers. Installed in a van with paper throwers stationed at special windows on each side, the system signals each thrower with a tone through headphones at the proper time to throw papers to individual subscribers while driving through residential areas at 15-30 mi/h.