Slowly but surely auto companies and OEM suppliers are developing integrated safety systems that can help achieve the holy grail of accident-free driving. Every new car sold today has safety systems, such as anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control, on them. However these systems are limited as they only help solo cars.
BMW is just one of many companies working on communication systems that go a step further and communicate with each other. Development work has been going on for well over a decade and it is getting closer to being practical for everyday use. European companies are working on standards to ensure compatibility.
BMW describes its system as “car-to-x” communications since it allows for communications between cars, as well as motorcycles and the environment. It says, for example that the needs for a motorcycle rider are different from that of a car driver. Car drivers often miss seeing motorcyclists, especially at junctions, so if a motorcycle could broadcast its presence over a WLAN or mobile phone network it could warn drivers if they are about to hit a motorcyclist.
BMW says cars can play a pivotal role in this system as the original source of the warnings. For example, activation of car fog lamps or the highest wiper setting, or DSC intervention in an otherwise normal driving situation, may indicate adverse conditions, such as a patch of black ice, in a certain area. This information is then supplied to the motorcycle, keeping the rider promptly and fully informed.
“Car-to-x” communications is not just about safety it is also a way for improving efficiency both in fuel consumed and optimizing time taken for trips. Traffic lights would be able to communicate with a car and advise a driver what speed to travel at so as to arrive at a junction just in time for a green light.
Systems advising alternative routes in heavy traffic caused by accidents are already available in many navigation systems, but they tend to be one-way communications. It would help alleviate traffic if a car could also become part of the network providing two-way real time updating of position and local conditions.
Karl-Ernst Steinberg, Head of Information and Communication Technologies at BMW Group Research and Technology, sums the advantages up: “The more information I have about the rest of my journey – for example, if I know in advance when traffic lights will change, or if I know that an accident has just happened further along the route – the more promptly I can react, which means I have less stress and can either avoid hazardous situations altogether or at least reduce the risk.”
Are you looking forward to enjoying driving vehicles that can talk to each other and give you advice?
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