[17] Automation in transportation.

The most sophisticated applications of automation in transportation have been made in the guidance and control of aircraft and spacecraft. Other applications include railroad operations and automatic traffic control.

Aviation. Automated systems combining radar, computers, and auxiliary electronic equipment have been developed to control the ever-increasing volume of air traffic. Air traffic controllers at large airports depend on such systems to direct the continuous flow of incoming and outgoing airplanes. They can pinpoint the position of every plane within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the airfield on a special display screen of the radar unit. This information allows the controllers to select the safest route for pilots to follow as they approach and leave the airport. Many of the systems of the aircraft itself are automated. Oxygen masks, for instance, automatically drop down from overhead compartments when the cabin pressure becomes too low. Most modern planes have an automatic pilot that can take over for the human pilot. Commercial passenger planes are usually equipped with an automatic landing system that can be used when runway visibility is poor. The system employs radio beams from the ground to operate an instrument on board the plane. By watching this instrument, a pilot can determine the exact position of his craft in relation to the landing strip.

Railroads.Automation has become an important factor in railroad operations. The management of rail yards* has been facilitated by computerized systems that integrate the signaling and switching** functions of classification yards, where freight trains are sorted and assembled. Electronic scanners read color-coded identification labels on all freight cars entering a classification yard and relay the information to yard computers that assign the cars to the proper track. Automation has also been adopted by many passenger rail lines. In a number of systems, automatic equipment is used so extensively that the function of the train operator has been reduced to simple on and off operations during station stops. Since commands from automatic controls are continuously fed to other automatic mechanisms in response to information collected by sensors strategically positioned on the engine and track, human control of the engine is only required in an emergency.

An impressive example of automated rail transportation is the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system serving the San Francisco-Oakland area of California. BART consists of more than 75 miles (121 kilometers) of track and about 100 trains operating between 33 stations at peak hours. Both the operation of trains and ticketing of passengers are fully automated. As a train enters a station, it automatically transmits its identification and destination to the control center and to a display board for passengers to see. The control center, in turn, sends signals to the train that regulate its time in the station and its running time to the next destination. An ideal schedule is established every morning and, as the day progresses, the performance of each train is compared with that schedule. The performances of individual trains are then adjusted as required. The entire BART system is controlled by essentially one computer. There is an identical backup computer that can assume control if necessary.

Notes: *(classification) yard – сортировочная станция

**switching – маневровая работа