Car to Car Communication !

Recent technology would allow cars to talk each other,helping to prevent accidents and make better traffic flow that is about to get a real world road test following new which is funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Most of high technology cars already produced with sensors capable of spotting a vehicle in a driver's blind spot, or warning that the car is drifting out of lane,but these technologies, which use radar, laser, or video sensors are limited. Car to car communications could provide more well-rounded earlier warnings, for example, when a car several vehicles ahead brakes suddenly.



Last days, the DOT awarded $14.9 million to the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute to test the technology, known as vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to defense system communication. The system to be tested relies on dedicated short-range radio communication to allow cars to signal one another and take messages from traffic equipment.

The DOT estimates that 80% accidents could be prevented by this technology. "This is the next big security progress, one that is comparable with safety belts, airbags and electronic stability control," said Scott Belcher, President and CEO of Intelligent Transportation Society of America, a nonprofit established to promote advanced vehicle technologies.

The technology will be tested in a lot of situations, it will warn driver when it is unsafe to pass, and if someone is approaching an intersection with a speed could cause an accident. Each car comes with a radio that its speed and direction, as determined GPS, signals are fitted to other vehicles. It will also send this information to suitably equipped traffic equipment.

The University of Michigan is partnering with eight automakers, a number of which began working collaboratively to develop a uniform platform for implementing the technology in 1995. These carmakers will provide 64 cars equipped with the radios, while an additional group of ordinary cars will be fit with devices so they can transmit signals, making up a total of nearly 3,000 vehicles. Drivers will be recruited from among the 20,000 employees of the university's medical center.

Peter Sweatman, director of the Transportation Research Institute, says Ann Arbor is an ideal test environment because it is a concentrated area with only three main roads out of town, making it likely that the cars are equipped regularly meet. The driving portion will run for one year, and data are collected and may be used to decide from the DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, until 2013, when the technology has enough advantages to be approved. This should be approved, the technology would be updated from more than 10 years, says Sweatman

technologyreview.com