Talking cars on way

Mercedes-Benz, in co-operation with other automakers, is developing a system that allows cars to communicate with each other to give drivers fast and timely warnings of dangers ahead and improve traffic flow.

If vehicles can exchange information, motorists will be able to detect danger even if the danger spot lies around the next curve or over the horizon or they can be guided to alternative routes to avoid traffic jams.
This has now been successfully verified by Mercedes engineers in a field test conducted at the conclusion of the Prevent WILLWARN (Wireless Local Danger Warning) European research project.
“During the course of the test, five vehicles equipped with WLAN-based radio technology used a car-to-x communication system to radio details of critical situations, such as fog or obstacles on the road, to the cars behind them,” said Johannes Fritz, director, sales and marketing, Mercedes Car Group, Middle East.
“These early warnings enabled the drivers of the following cars to prepare for the danger and adapt their speed in plenty of time.”
Mercedes-Benz was the fist automotive company to test this system six years ago when the brand’s experts sent the first ever intercommunicating vehicle fleet on to the road as part of the ‘FleetNet’ research project.
This field test demonstrated that WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) technology, which had already proved to be a success when used for wireless Internet access, also allowed vehicles to communicate with each other.
One of the key benefits of this technology is that it does not require expensive fixed-installation transmitting and receiving devices, since the cars themselves act as both transmitters and receivers.
The vehicles spontaneously set up ad hoc radio networks and transmit warning messages to all vehicles within a radius of around 500 metres.
The vehicles receiving the messages act as relays that pass on warnings to cars outside of the radio range in much the same way as a relay runner would hand over a baton.
No additional sensors are required to register critical situations, since the necessary information is provided by the anti-lock braking system (ABS), the Electronic Stability Programme (ESPÒ), the steering-angle sensors, the outside thermometer, and the navigation system.
Mercedes engineers incorporated the key groundwork laid during the course of the FleetNet project into the subsequent NOW (Network on Wheels) programme and the current WILLWARN project.
The goal here was to use the experience gained to work together with partners from the automotive supplier and electronics industries in order to further develop and standardise this promising technology, while also securing the rights to use the required frequencies.
Mercedes-Benz also supplied information to partners who only joined the project at a later stage, as it quickly realised that the only way to establish a fully functioning WLAN radio network that would benefit all road users was to cooperate with other car manufacturers and the relevant authorities.
After all, for an ad hoc radio network to be of any use, enough vehicles have to be equipped with the necessary technology.
Beacons will need to be installed at roadsides to ensure maximum utility right from the start for the first vehicles to be equipped with such a system.
These stationary radio nodes could also be used to provide traffic control centres with additional and better information.
However, direct contact with the Internet and its numerous fields of application is possible as well.
In addition to warning motorists of critical situations in advance, the new radio network could also be used to improve the flow of traffic.
Communicating cars would then guide their occupants away from traffic congestion or even prevent jams from occurring in the first place.
Mercedes-Benz was one of the initiators behind the European Car2Car Communication Consortium, and the brand is involved in the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Initiative in the US as well.
The aim of these projects is to lay the political foundations for vehicle communication in Europe and America, and accelerate the process of standardisation.
Intelligent assistance and car-to-x communication systems that understand situations occurring in the vicinity of vehicles, and that can also make predictive interpretations, will enable Mercedes-Benz to take a further decisive step over the next few years toward achieving one of its primary aims – accident-free driving.