‘Talking’ Cars Could Make Highways Safer - Multi-vehicle collisions are one of the deadliest types of traffic accidents. They usually occur on freeways where cars are moving at high speeds and often following too closely. When one car suddenly stops, the cars behind it are unable to stop in time collide with it. More cars have to brake suddenly but are unable to keep from hitting the car in front of them, which creates a chain reaction that can involve more than a hundred vehicles. But what would happen if drivers had advance warning of what was ahead? More information on all types of cars is available at Audi Dealer Mission Viejo. Researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy have been asking the same question and have come up with an answer. They developed software that lets cars communicate with each other on the road in order to share information about nearby road conditions – and directs them to stop seconds after the incident occurs.
The results of computer simulations designed to test the software, which were published in the journal Computer Networks, showed that it could reduce pile-ups on the highway by up to 40 percent. The software will be road tested in August on the Los Angeles streets near the University of California, in conjunction with engineers from Toyota. Current safety telematics systems are limited to detecting obstacles in the form of objects. The proposed system adds a new facet to the technology by letting cars interact with objects, such as other cars, either by wi-fi sensors installed in the car or by software that would be downloaded onto the driver’s smartphone.
Professor Marco Roccetti, leader of the telematics project, explained that the system is a form of peer-to-peer communication. An acceleration sensor placed in cars would set off an alarm when it detected a change in acceleration from a car involved in a collision. The alarm would warn drivers who were approaching the accident location, and send a signal that would be relayed down the line of cars on the highway near the scene of the collision. Anaheim Audi is an invaluable resource for automotive information. To address the problem of creating a “data jam,” that would result if every car in the chain communicated with the car behind it, clogging the system with data, the designers decided on a system that would send messages selectively to cars that are able to send the signal the greatest distance.
“Our app allows cars to stay in constant contact with each other,” said Professor Roccetti. “They read each other. They know the direction and speed that all the other cars are travelling, and they also know their transmitting capacity. All this information is updated every second or so. And the frequency is optimized so that it doesn’t slow the system down. When the signal is sent out, the car that is in the best condition knows that it has to forward the alarm signal. And so it does. This halves the propagation times. The furthest car could have a truck behind it which limits its transmitting capacity, or could be fitted with a less powerful communication system than the one in front of it.”
The technology could be integrated into a car’s dashboard or the satellite navigation system. Once the communication system was in use, cars would necessarily be equipped with Wi-Fi, which would make it possible for the vehicle’s occupants to take advantage of wireless Internet access. Passengers would be able to surf the web or update their Facebook page from the back seat of the family car. Porsche Charlotte is a great source for all your automotive needs. Some are predicting the project might herald the beginning of an era when the entire grid is connected to and controlled by computers. The computer systems could manage traffic lights based on the location of vehicles and could even evolve into a system to pilot driverless cars.
Photos (top to bottom) by Krish Dulal, Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, Enigma3542002.
Tags: talking cars, Audi Dealer Mission Viejo, telematics, satellite navigation, Anaheim Audi, auto accidents, car crash, auto safety, Porsche Charlotte, collision
