Advanced Automotive Technology: Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communications

With everyone over the age of 13 seeming to carry a cell phone, there's a whole lot of texting and talking going on in today's world. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that we are entering an age of advanced technology in which our cars will be in real-time communication with the cars around them. Our vehicles will be able to share useful data that will help us get to where we need to go more efficiently and more safely. Using a combination of global positioning navigation devices, short-distance radio communication and input from existing in-vehicle sensors, which is also referred to as Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), cars equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) can tell each other where they are and calculate whether danger threatens.

Welcome to the world of car-to-car safety networking. And most intriguing of all, it's affordable in comparison to much of the other advanced technology in the pipeline. All your car needs is a GPS receiver, an economical, short-range radio working at 5.4 GHz (the unlicensed frequency also used by WiFi) and a connection to the braking system. Of course, the effectiveness of V2V safety networking will never be fully realized until a majority of vehicles on the road are in the network, but that day may be here sooner than you think. And you won't have to buy a new car to get in on the fun. Because the technology is uncomplicated, unequipped cars can be easily retrofitted at a very reasonable cost.

The prospects of such technology are dizzying and government agencies such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are looking to integrate DSRC into roadway infrastructure, including stoplights and traffic monitoring systems. And once the government gets its interest piqued, you can expect a lot of momentum directed at this technology.

Vehicle-to-vehicle technology is truly a big leap. If vehicles are able to communicate with one another, the need for traditional traffic control devices could become a thing of the past. Setting speeds based on road and traffic conditions is one possibility. Traffic also could be tailored so that more cars can safely occupy the same stretch of road. Delays and wasted gas at stoplights could be significantly reduced, and the cost of roadway infrastructure could come down. Traffic might be easily rerouted around accidents or road construction in an organized manner. A car-connected network of electronic information could give future dialed-in vehicles an automatic advantage over non-equipped vehicles.

A vehicle-to-vehicle-equipped car constantly sends information about its position, accurate to 2.5 meters (half the width of a highway lane), and its direction of travel (compass heading). Optionally, V2V might send data on the vehicle size - 4,000-lb. car or 80,000-lb. semi-trailer - and lane-change intentions, or at least whether or not the left turn signal is blinking. A driver's car would receive data from other cars nearby.

Crash avoidance is also part of the plan. For instance, you're traveling down the highway and a disabled vehicle is ahead on the road. Suppose you encounter a brief distraction that minimizes your ability to notice the disabled vehicle. As your car and the disabled vehicle begin to communicate with each other, the disabled vehicle's brake and backup lights could begin to flash. On the IP of your vehicle, a warning flashes, the seat vibrates and the anti-lock brakes bring the vehicle safely to a stop, short of disaster, all with no driver interference. This type of networked communication could have a dramatic impact in terms of saving lives and saving money.

Naturally, there will be many potential features that will spring up as this type of technology begins to unfold. Some of us may not appreciate the benefits, as some of these features will likely raise privacy concerns. Similar to how some states utilize electronic toll collection through transponders mounted on windshields, V2V technology could take this type of tracking capability to a more wide-sweeping scale. There may come a day when you receive a traffic ticket in the mail, which includes highly detailed information including the exact location of where the transgression occurred, exact speed at the time of the transgression and perhaps even pictures of your vehicle while in the act. You may receive a revised automotive insurance premium notice from your agent, with a higher rate since it's become obvious, now that you have vehicle-to-vehicle communications, that you were seriously under reporting your annual mileage, which can now be very accurately measured.

Clearly, V2V technology will have its challenges, but once we're all connected, there can be no doubt that our roads will be safer places to travel.