GM's new smart car technology: vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology

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GM's new smart car technology: vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology [Copy link]

When drivers are distracted, inattentive, or otherwise doing something they shouldn't be doing behind the wheel, communications technology, sensors, GPS, and powerful processors can help make things much better, as a General Motors demonstration proved.

According to the 2005 Urban Mobility Report released by the Texas Department of Transportation, traffic jams caused 3.7 billion hours of travel delays, 2.3 billion gallons of gas, and $63 billion in wasted in 2003. That's missed meetings, late work, and missed meals. Trillions of dollars are missing each year for new road projects to accommodate the impact of millions of vehicles on infrastructure. What a national concern that needs to be alleviated! Experts say businesses should increase teleworking, use the Internet and phones for meetings, and implement technology to monitor traffic flow, reduce accidents, and increase throughput. The latter initiative is where General Motors is focusing its efforts, including so-called vehicle-to-vehicle communications, or V2V. A

driving test in a V2V-equipped Cadillac CTS sedan demonstrated the system's two main uses: lane change/blind spot warnings and automatic braking to avoid rear-end collisions. During the lane change test, my green CTS was cruising along the GM test track in Milford, Michigan at a comfortable 40 mph when a silver CTS pulled directly into my blind spot. As I attempted to change lanes and was using my turn signal, a yellow warning light flashed in my side mirror, providing a clear indication of the vehicle’s presence. The second test was conducted traveling at the same speed but this time with the silver CTS approaching at high speed from the left of the vehicle. When using the turn signal to indicate a lane change, the V2V system received a signal from the approaching silver CTS and immediately illuminated the warning light and sent a slight vibration through the left side of the driver’s seat, indicating the potential risk of a collision and reminding me to stay in my lane. Once the lane change test was completed, the next round was a rear-end collision avoidance test. Here, the first test involved the aforementioned silver CTS, followed by a black Suburban sedan. As the silver CTS was cruising at 35 mph, the driver executed an emergency stop, forcing the Suburban sedan to quickly change lanes. The V2V system immediately recognized that the silver CTS was slowing down and flashed a warning light on my tester's dashboard and sent a slight vibration to the front of the driver's seat. In addition, the silver CTS's rear brake and reverse lights began to flash like strobes, providing an additional visual warning, all of which enabled rapid braking before a rear-end collision occurred. The next test was the most unsettling automatic braking of them all. During the test, I approached the silver CTS, which was braking suddenly, at approximately 35 mph. As I approached the rear of the silver CTS, its rear taillights and reverse lights began to flash to get my attention. In addition, a warning light illuminated on my dashboard and the front of my seat began to vibrate. And as I continued to approach the silver CTS, my car's brake system took over and automatically stopped the vehicle before it could rear-end the other vehicle. It was difficult not to hit the brakes as my sedan approached the silver CTS, but I managed to keep my composure... not bad, so I lightly applied the brakes.

How does V2V work?

The V2V system uses GM OnStar and Stabilitrak technology*, which works with a simple antenna and computer chip to detect the location and movement of similarly equipped vehicles up to a quarter mile away. Signals between vehicles communicate over a WiFi network using the 80.211p protocol, which has been designated by the Federal Communications Commission for wireless access for vehicles because it extends range and speeds over a dedicated 5.9 GHz frequency band. "You've got GPS information on OnStar, and you've got wheel speed, side slip and all that other information from Stabilitrak, and we put those two pieces of information together into a mathematical algorithm that not only tells you where the vehicle is, but it can completely calculate what's ahead. That's where we think we have some intelligent advantages," said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development and strategic planning, which envisions a production system in the next five to 10 years. He compares the system to radar transceivers used in the aviation industry, which communicate to keep most civilian aircraft in the air. "You can imagine a future world where all cars must have a radar transceiver. Some cars will take advantage of this effective sense, assuming that I know where every car is. I have gained this sixth sense about the vehicle, making my driving task easier, safer and more efficient."

Will V2V work for all vehicles?

V2V is GM's own invention, but the automaker is interested in working with federal standards groups and competitors to make the system ubiquitous. "We're going to work with all the other venture capitalists on this," Burns said. GM believes vehicle-to-vehicle communications tend to reduce congestion and accidents, and that it's a realistic way to increase vehicle throughput on traffic arteries, as opposed to other plans that require magnetic pins on the side of the road and radar transceivers in road signs. "The way to get to an intelligent transportation system is to put the intelligence in the car instead of in the road system. If you can communicate everything you need to know about location without having to rely on the road infrastructure, that's a big benefit," Burns said. "The incremental cost of the additional antennas and sensors is very small, no more than the average cost of a cell phone," Burns said. Compared to the trillions of dollars it would cost to place magnetic pins every few feet on the 8,315,121 miles of roads in the United States, you can see why it's easier to spend a few bucks on antennas and sensors on each car.

V2V systems also mark an important step toward autonomous driving—the ability of a vehicle to propel itself without input from the driver. It’s been a dream of the industry for years, but the technology proved to be expensive and illusive before V2V was developed. According to Burns, “When you look at something like V2V combined with adaptive cruise control, you ask yourself: How close are we to autonomous driving in a traffic environment? Technically, we’re not that far away.” While the technology may be there, will drivers be willing to take their hands off the wheel and read the morning paper on their way to work? Well, many are already doing that.

* Stabilitrak is an integrated stability control system comprised of three sensors, anti-lock brakes, and a traction control computer that reports steering wheel angle, lateral acceleration and slip rate, and preferably applies independent front brakes to keep the car on its intended course.