Car-to-Car Communication

CAR-TO-CAR COMMUNICATION SYSTEM:

Casualties due to car accidents have increased in great amount during last couple of years. Millions of people are dying on roads in the hands of inexperienced drivers and poor technology. Consider yourself in a situation where you are driving on a curved path and suddenly realize you have a flat tire and needs to park the car on right side of the lane. Unaware of the fact that a high speeding car is approaching you from behind, you start your car and suddenly a light flashes on the dashboard, there is a beeping sound and seats start vibrating. This is a warning that you should stop right where you are and let the other car pass, which is currently blinded from your sight. So you hit the brakes and save yourself from a horrible accident.

This technology that hoarded the lives of two innocent drivers is called car-to-car or vehicle-to-vehicle communication and will be available for common use within two years. Its main purpose is to share data like speed, position of a car, its brake status, steering wheel information etc. among other surrounding cars within hundred meters .It will prepare the drivers to handle any incoming situation. This technology is better from the preexisting radars and instruments in a way that they are short ranged and cannot see past the nearest obstruction.

               

Creating such an advanced system is still a challenge. The computers onboard each car process the readings from other vehicles ten times every second and each time they calculate the time of any future collision.  Transmitters use a dedicated portion of wireless spectrum as well as a new wireless standard, 802.11p, to validate each warning.

Car-to-Car communication has numerous advantages in road safety .it will prevent you from parking in pre occupied parking space, taking a dangerous turn without having a clear view of what lies ahead and most importantly from attempting a risky overtake. Some of its applications regarding safety issues are: Warnings on entering intersections, warnings on departing the highways, obstacle discovery, sudden halts warnings, reporting accidents, lane change warnings.

Considering its usability and significance US department of transportation proclaimed that it will shortly make the use of car-to-car communication mandatory in new cars, most probably by the year 2017.

General Motors are currently working on its development, they demonstrated the system in 2006 using Cadillac vehicles. Other automakers interested in V2V communication are Toyota, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Audi, and Volvo.

But there is still a long way to go and many obstacles to overcome before car-to-car communication can become common in our vehicles.