It knows its location, can talk to other cars and can tell the future. Are we entering the era of truly automated cars? The Collision Warning System (CWS) is the brainchild of the Reposit project, and they recently fired up a fully working prototype of their system.
The prototype can find its position using GPS, and find the position, speed and trajectory of neighbouring and oncoming traffic using an emerging car communication protocol called Vehicle2Vehicle (V2V).
It can use that information to calculate the relative position of other cars, and then extrapolate where they will be in a few seconds’ time. If the data predicts a collision, it warns the driver.
“So far, we’ve got predictions about 1 to 3 seconds ahead of a collision… but anything from 2 seconds up gives drivers time to react. It works better at medium-to-high speeds, above 50km/h,” reveals Jose Ignacio Herrero Zarzosa, coordinator of the Reposit ‘relative position for collision avoidance systems’ project.
High-performance GPS systems, that can locate a car within a metre or so, perform far better than low-performance GPS systems, but even with poor GPS technology Reposit has managed to get warning times to 1.5 seconds in a simulator, not too far from the useful minimum of 2 seconds. Zarzosa believes the system can do even better, with further work using vehicles’ available sensors.
But the system does work, at least in a simulator, and that is a concrete result. The team has also perfected a simulator that other projects can use to model car collisions, another useful output. But will it be a success?
Unforgiving economics
It is possible, in time. Crucially, the system uses technologies, such as GPS and V2V, which are already becoming common or are emerging as a feature of modern cars. More and more cars come with GPS already installed, explains Zarzosa, and many owners are self-installing a GPS system, so for these cars Reposit takes advantage of the installed base.
V2V is an emerging standard for communication between vehicles, and so it will become more common as time goes by. The Rosetta stone of the system, the programme that ties all the devices together, is just software and so relatively cheap.
That is very important. Keeping cost down is essential for any new car technology. The economics of the motor industry are unforgiving. “New car devices must be cheap if they are to be commercialised,” notes Zarzosa.
The Reposit team discovered that the rules for automobile innovation are unforgiving, too. Right now, there is no standard for integrating new functions into an existing car system. Every manufacturer uses different system integration methods. This significantly pushes up the cost of third-party technologies like Reposit,” warns Zarzosa.
Although the European Commission reports that it is working hard on this.
So far, the car industry finds Reposit’s work interesting, but remains unconvinced of the commercial application. The car industry is... very price sensitive, notes Zarzosa.
Even so, the popularity of GPS, and the emergence of V2V as a standard, means that the system will become more attractive over time. Before long, drivers might take the first, tentative steps into the era of connected cars.
Source:
ICT Results
Related stories:
Dashing computer interface to control your car
(PhysOrg.com) -- European researchers have developed a special dashboard computer to act as a single conduit for all devices emerging in modern cars – GPS, mobile, PDAs, intelligent car technologies. It should mean a better, more relaxed and even safer driving experience.
Small GPS devices help prosecutors win convictions
(AP) -- Like millions of motorists, Eric Hanson used a GPS unit in his Chevrolet TrailBlazer to find his way around. He probably didn't expect that prosecutors would eventually use it too - to help convict him of killing four family members.
With newest technology, US police turn table on car thieves
In some US cities, police have turned the thieves' greed and nifty new technology around on them, letting the car catch the crook.
Inflatable electric car can drive off cliffs
It's hard to say what the most intriguing thing about XP Vehicles' inflatable car is. Maybe it's that the car can travel for up to 2,500 miles on a single electric charge (the distance across the US is roughly 3,000 miles).
Automotive safety systems get more dependable
As automotive safety systems become more complex, the risk of failure increases. But European researchers believe they have found a way to improve dependability.
Professor studies what cars can learn from drivers' words
Years ago, Stanford communication and sociology researcher Clifford Nass wondered why some people treated their computers as humans, instead of machines, a question that led him down a path of interesting research. Now he wonders about drivers willing to have personal conversations with the artificial voice in their cars—and what will become of the secrets the humans share with their four-wheeled friends.
New research project captures traffic data using GPS-enabled cell phones
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Nokia tested technology that could soon transform the way drivers navigate through congested highways and obtain information about road conditions. In the unprecedented field experiment, transportation researchers tested the feasibility of using GPS-enabled mobile phones to monitor real-time traffic flow while preserving the privacy of the phones' users.
Wireless World: Lifestyle now for boaters
Captain Roger Sardina navigates the Sea Ray Run, a 40-foot-long Sundancer motor boat made by Brunswick, through the "Danger Spot A" of Burham Harbor on Lake Michigan, using the wireless global positioning system. We've just completed a quick cruise of the lake, on a very rainy morning here in Chicago, but the sea state -- the height and movement of the waves -- was relatively steady.
