Car-to-car communication
The electronics developers have focused on safety and traffic control in the Audi Roadjet Concept, as well as on driving pleasure. It features a prototype of a future generation of information-processing systems that herald in a new era in road traffic networking specifically in countries with high volumes of traffic.
At the heart of this concept is car-to-car communication, meaning the direct exchange of information within the flow of traffic. Unlike the telematics systems of the recent past, no central service is now needed to consolidate and process the information swiftly and effectively.
The progress that has been achieved in the areas of computing power and software development have made this application possible; even though they occupy very little space and consume very little energy, future systems will be capable of processing an array of data into practical, easily digested information for the driver that moreover paves the way for a very high standard of safety.
The reality of road traffic means that the car-to-car network can of course only be activated with a certain lead time. This hurdle is, however, manageable because virtually all vehicle manufacturers in Europe, the USA and Japan have agreed in parallel to develop a common standard for the hardware and software.
Applications have also been submitted to the authorities to use standard radio frequencies on an international scale, thus assuring the system's proper functioning when driving abroad.
Once all new vehicles in a market are being factory-fitted with this new technology, a functioning network of car-based transmitters will be created within a few months, at least in conurbations.
Many new areas of application can then be exploited in practice. The following three examples are intended merely as illustrations of what scope car-to-car communication offers:
Example 1 – safety.
A vehicle has skidded on a slippery surface on a blind bend and is hanging half in a ditch, at right-angles to the flow of traffic. It is now unable to move unassisted. Other vehicles are swiftly approaching the obstruction but their drivers are unable to see it. With the new communication technology, the stranded vehicle will transmit a warning signal which – thanks to the network established with the vehicle's on-board navigation system – also indicates the location of the hazard. A corresponding warning simultaneously appears on the navigation screens of the approaching vehicles, indicating the location of the accident – the risk of a collision is thus substantially reduced.
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