Cars to ‘talk’ to one another?

NEC Laboratories’ vehicular communication system has become part of the European Commission-sponsored research project DRIVE C2X to make traffic and transportation safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

On 5 July, visitors from all over the world experienced how cars signal each other information on potential traffic hazards such as an approaching emergency vehicle or obstacles on the road in a 20-minute demonstration tour at the Dutch Integrated Testsite for Cooperative Mobility in Helmond, the Netherlands.

For instance, a car approaching the end of a traffic jam can warn all following drivers in real time about the hazard. A construction site can signal its position to all cars in the vicinity, or drivers can see the speed limits and other road signs in their dashboard display in addition to the ones by the roadside.

The vehicular communication system, including the LinkBird-MX communication platform and C2X-Software Development Kit, is part of the DRIVE C2X vehicle reference system.

“NEC’s participation in large-scale European trials is the result of more than a decade of innovation in vehicular communications, developing research ideas and successfully bringing them onto reliable pre-commercial platforms,” said Dr Heinrich Stuettgen, vice president of NEC Laboratories Europe.

The trial event demonstrates nine applications for safety and traffic efficiency. It also provides insights into the test management centre and procedures for Car-2-X (Car-to-Car and Car-to-Infrastructure) communications.