Fuel Economy From The Heavens

First there was cruise control that kept your truck moving without your right foot on the accelerator. Then came intelligent cruise that automatically raised and lowered cruising speed in response to vehicles ahead of you.
How about a stingy cruise control

that watches out for your wallet on one hand and the enviroment on the other?
A company called Mirenco Inc., in the small town of Radcliffe, Iowa, has patented what it calls SmartFoot technology, which plugs in between your right foot and the engine, managing accelerator controls for maximum fuel efficiency and minimum emissions. SmartFoot, in turn, underlies what Mirenco calls EconoCruise, a cruise control system that accomplishes the same goals while giving your right foot a rest.
The EconoCruise computer module monitors RPM, exhaust, speed, fuel usage, etc. -- all the parameters you might expect. But that’s not all. EconoCruise uses sophisticated mapping to monitor the terrain along a given route and the truck’s position as reported by GPS.
On subsequent runs, EconoCruise anticipates the road ahead and produces a precise, fuel delivery rate for optimum fuel economy and emissions control.
On its website Mirenco says EconoCruise is turned on just like any cruise control. But the system now "knows" how to best manage the throttle, literally second-by-second, taking into account the terrain of the roadway, wind resistance, exhaust emissions, engine performance and GPS position.
EconoCruise can allow a vehicle to gain a safe amount of momentum going downhill or on a straightaway to prepare for an uphill stretch of road just ahead.
"The intelligent cruise control will allow less talented drivers to achieve the same vehicle performance as the best drivers on the road," boasts Mirenco.
Of course, the driver can always override EconoCruise by applying the brake. Similarly, he can increase acceleration by stepping on the accelerator.
EconoCruise isn’t available just yet. According to Mirenco, the system has been successfully demonstrated and is currently under development under contract with the U.S. Department of Transportion.