Lane-Free Artificial-Fluid Concept for Vehicular Traffic

Vehicular traffic has evolved as a crucial means for the transport of persons and goods, and its importance for the economic and social life of modern society cannot be overemphasized. On the other hand, recurrent vehicular traffic congestion, which appears on a daily basis, particularly in metropolitan areas, around the globe, has been a (increasingly) serious, in fact threatening, problem that calls for drastic solutions. Traffic congestion causes excessive travel delays, substantial fuel consumption and environmental pollution, and reduced traffic safety. Conventional traffic management measures are valuable [1]-[3] but not sufficient to address the heavily congested traffic conditions, which must be addressed in a more comprehensive way that exploits gradually emerging and future ground-breaking capabilities of vehicles and the infrastructure.