DESIGN CHALLENGE
Southern California's progressive social environment and freethinking spirit are major contributors to American culture today. This is why leading automotive companies have built design centers here, and why the Los Angeles Auto Show is featuring an exciting design competition among the studios. With "An LA Adventure" as its theme, the contest challenges studios to develop a unique visual concept of the perfect LA adventure vehicle design.
A private right-of-way for buses would 'speed bus travel, but it is extremely expensive. A more economic alternative would be buses that could ride on existing railroad rights-of-way, avoiding street traffic. This, however, would require a vehicle design that could travel on both rails and roads.
To run on rails, the dual-mode bus would be guided by rail-type flanged wheels that would be lowered into position when needed. Braking and acceleration would be controlled through the vehicle design's rubber tires, which would also be in contact with the rails. Tests have shown that this design needs further development to improve traction and rideability.
The speed meter uses the Doppler principle. The radar transmits continuously at a fixed frequency with a power of 0.2 watt. Energy reflected from a moving vehicle design returns at a slightly different frequency because of the vehicle design's motion. The radar receiver measures the difference in frequency between the reflected radiatia and the transmitted radiation and translates directly into the speed of the vehicle design. The rad utilizes an extremely short wavelength, in th 1-centimeter band.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
Southern California's progressive social environment and freethinking spirit are major contributors to American culture today. This is why leading automotive companies have built design centers here, and why the Los Angeles Auto Show is featuring an exciting design competition among the studios. With "An LA Adventure" as its theme, the contest challenges studios to develop a unique visual concept of the perfect LA adventure vehicle design.