PreDrive-C2X final event

Plase see the press release below:

http://www.auto-car-shop.com/18391/pre-drive-project-c2x-reaches-its-next-phase/

Overview on U.S. IntelliDrive Project

Just today, I found a very nice overview article from Shelley J. Row about the U.S. IntelliDrive project: (So far, I have no permission granted from the U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration’s “Public Roads”, where the article was originally published. But you can fine the full text through the following link):

IntelliDrive: Safer. Smarter. Greener.

AKTIV - Final Project Presentation 2010-06-23

June 23rd, 2010, the four-year German research project "AKTIV" came to the end with the final project presentation on 23rd and 24th of June 2010 in the testfield of TüV Rheinland, Mendig.

Being considered as the most important project at the moment in this aera, this German national project got most of the EU car manufacturers involoved and contributed to the topics from automotive safety to environment friendly traffic management.

Following are some facts of the project:
AKTIV is the acronym used for the research initiative "Adaptive and cooperative technologies for intelligent transport". AKTIV has an overall budget of €60 million, the majority of which is provided by the research partners. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology is contributing €25 million, while the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing €2.1 million. The research initiative itself is divided into two main projects in which Volkswagen is heavily involved: "Assistance Systems / Active Safety" ("AS") and "Traffic Management" ("VM"). In addition to these main areas, the initiative also includes the project "Cooperative Cars" ("CoCar").

With an investment volume of €37.5 million, "AS" is the largest project within this research initiative. Besides "Integrated Lateral Assistance" ("IQF"), this project also investigates the four topics of "Active Hazard Braking" ("AGB"), "Intersection Assistance" ("KAS"), "Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety" ("SFR") and "Driver Awareness and Safety" ("FSA").

About €18 million are available in the "Traffic Management" project. In addition to other topics, Situation-Responsive Driving ("STAF") is the focus of intensive research in this project.

"The partners of AKTIV are as follows: Adam Opel GmbH, AUDI AG, AZT Automotive GmbH, BMW Group, Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), Continental, Daimler AG, Ericsson, Ford Forschungszentrum Aachen GmbH, Hessian Road and Traffic Authority (HLSV), Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes - University of Applied Sciences, IBEO, ifak e.V. Magdeburg, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG, PTV AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens AG, Technische Universität Braunschweig (Braunschweig University of Technology), Technische Universität München (University of Technology, Munich), Tele Atlas Deutschland GmbH, Transver GmbH, Universität Kassel (University of Kassel), Vodafone Group R&D Germany and Volkswagen AG. Many university and research institutes as well as small and medium-sized businesses have also been subcontracted to work on the projects."

For more information about the event, please see the press release from AKTIV official web site, Ford, VW, AUDI and BMW:

Press from AKTIV;
Press from European Ford Research Center;
Press from VW;
Press from Audi;
Press from BMW.

ITRI WAVE/DSRC Communication Unit (IWCU) Platform in Taiwan

Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan released the first IWCU (ITRI WAVE/DSRC Communication Unit) in Taiwan. The IWCU serial products are meant to provide V2V V2R communciatio enabling ITS applications ranging from Safety to Infortainment, as reported in :

http://www.mem.com.tw/article_content.asp?sn=0909250006

An AMULETT for Pedestrian Safety with C2X Communication

The research project AMULETT funded by Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs focuses on the personal safety of pedestrian using C2X communication. That is realized through the cooperative sensor system between the car and the transponder carried by the pedestrian.

This three year research project was led by BMW Research and Technology in together with Continental Safety Engineering International GmBH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, TUM and ZENTEC GmbH. On 6th of May 2009, AMULETT will presentes the results to the public.

Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/04/22/bmw-car-2-x-communication-improves-pedestrian-safety/

"Active Safety Car" Project in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany

09, Jan. 2009 -- A consortium of six companies led by Delphi Deutschland has launched the research project, namely Active Safety Car, working towards the automotive-based system that utilizes on-board cameras and sensors, as well as car-to-car communication to improve the traffic safety. The project is partly founded by the North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state government.

The aim of the project is to develop a system that uses cameras, radars and sensors not only to recognize, but also share and exchange the information with other vehicles about hazards. Therefore, the focuses of research will be real-time image processing, pattern recognition, on-board real-time information processing, and car-to-car communication.

* Figure from allesueberautotechnik.de

* Figure from allesueberautotechnik.de

The consortium consists of Delphi Deutschland, Wuppertal University, Ceteq GmbH & Co KG,
Riedel Communications, and Volkswagen AG. The research tasks cover the following ares:
* Pedestrian safety through pedestrian detection and warning
* Vehicle detection and warning,
* Accident prediction and warning of critical situations,
* Prototype implementation
* Camera based pedestrian and vehicle recognition
* Car-to-Car or Car-to-Infrastructure communication

Source and figure courtesy:
allesueberautotechnik: Active Safety Car
EEtimes: Cars share cameras, radar sensors
www.elektroniknet.de: Projekt »Active Safety Car« gestartet

GM & Opel Develop Vehicles with a Sixth Sense

On the second international forum of CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium, GM and Opel demonstrated their vehicular communication systems.

(News from: Infibeam. The original article can be found at http://news.infibeam.com/blog/news/2008/11/03/gm_opel_develop_vehicles_with_a_sixth_sense.html)

"In its second international forum, the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium (C2C-CC) is demonstrating for the first time worldwide vehicle-to-X communication independent of manufacturer or vehicle-type. Opel is hosting the event at the GM Dudenhofen Test Center in Germany. 

Preventing accidents by warning drivers about potential danger from other vehicles was a major goal during the development of the new General Motors/Opel C2C (car-to-car or vehicle-to-vehicle) communication systems. Vehicles equipped with this technology can communicate with each other and exchange information such as location and speed. Drivers can then be warned in advance if another vehicle is stopped in an area that is difficult or impossible to see, or about to enter the same intersection as they are.

“Driving is a very complex task. Knowing where the other guy is and where he’s headed can be as critical as being in control of your own vehicle,” said Hans-Georg Frischkorn, Executive Director, Global Electrical Systems, Controls and Software. “With C2C technology, we intensify the driver’s awareness of his environment to improve road safety, without any distraction to him and certainly without reducing his level of control. This sixth sense lets drivers know what’s going on around them to help avoid accidents and improve traffic flow.”

For these systems, GM/Opel uses proven, reliable components that are part of everyday life. The hardware consists of a microprocessor, GPS receivers (Global Positioning System) and Wireless LAN modules. The vehicles establish communication within a few hundred meters of one another and exchange information such as location, speed, acceleration and direction of travel.

Today, vehicles can be equipped with multiple safety sensors, including radar-based sensors connected with speed control devices, lane change assistance systems or sensors to detect objects in a car’s blind spot. GM/Opel can increase the operating range and coverage of individual sensors significantly with its comprehensive technology - a more effective and affordable way to provide extensive observation and assessment of the surrounding traffic conditions.

Demonstration with typical driving situations
GM/Opel engineers demonstrate the new technology’s advantages with a range of practical exercises. Several functions help prevent the rear-end collisions that occur on a daily basis due to poor visibility, twisty roads or short lapses in driver concentration. For example, the system warns of a stationary vehicle on the road even before the driver behind can see it, for example around a corner. Depending on the situation, the system transmits these warnings visually, acoustically or through vibrations in the driver’s seat.

In another scenario, a collision warning system improves safety while approaching intersections. Even if there is no visual contact between the drivers of two vehicles, the system detects any collision danger in advance and alerts both drivers if they need to intervene, for example by braking. Work zones or emergency vehicles can also transmit signals to drivers if a lane is closed or a path needs to be cleared.

Goal: Wide availability for as many vehicles as possible
GM/Opel has deliberately based this technology on inexpensive, proven components, giving it the potential to become standard equipment in many vehicles. The alternative would be to offer extremely expensive high-tech systems for just a few cars, but as Hans-Georg Frischkorn says: “GM/Opel has always been committed to democratizing innovations. Our C2C systems are affordable and could potentially be used in every vehicle class. That’s especially important because cooperative systems like these become more effective when many vehicles are equipped with them.”

Courtesy: General Motors"

Big success with field performance evaluation of 5.9GHz DSRC based eToll collection system by Kapsch

An "extraordinary success" in a field evaluation of their 5.9GHz electronic toll system in trials on E470 in Colorado was reported by Kapsch. It was announced that the system successfully collected 100% of more than 10,500 DSRC sample passes during the evaluation test, which was conducted by an American nationally known, independent R&D laboratory.

Source: TOLLROADSnews 2008-10-28

"Kapsch report accuracy of 100% in electronic toll tests with 5.9GHz - SwRI tests

Posted Tue, 2008-10-28 21:44

The American offices of Kapsch are reporting "extraordinary success" in a performance evaluation of their 5.9GHz electronic toll system in trials on E470 in Colorado recently. In a press statement they say a nationally known, independent R&D laboratory evaluated the system and determined that it collected "100%" of more than 10,500 DSRC sample passes.

The transponder/reader or DSRC system was tested by a fleet of 27 vehicles which made approximately 11,000 passes under the Kapsch readers. Comparing the transponder reads with a count of vehicle passes using a separate GPS system the independent laboratory concluded that the system obtained 100% accuracy.

On request Kapsch provided us a copy of the report of the testing by the independent laboratory minus the cover page, and with the name of the laboratory blacked out. They said the laboratory demanded a non-disclosure agreement.

We discovered independently of Kapsch that the laboratory was the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio Texas, so we'll refer to the report as the SwRI report.

E470 Public Highway Authority allowed them to mount their readers, vehicle detection and classification lasers, cameras, and lights on a beam over one set of open road toll lanes at the Parker Road or Toll Plaza A on the far southern end of tollroad. Their equipment was set up without interference to the 915MHz Title 21 toll system that takes tolls routinely there. The plaza services about 17k vehicles/day.

SwRI says the tests were also of the Kapsch laser vehicle detection and classification (LVADC) compared to loop-based VDAC, a Kapsch automatic license plate reader as well as the 5.9GHz reader/transponder communications. Test specifications are to be published separately.

Tests were conducted weekdays over two weeks Aug 25-29 and Sept 1-5, 8am to 6pm. During the first week the test drivers drove only in lanes, but in the second week they did straddles of lanes, including the shoulder lane.

Kapsch personnel mounted the transponders in the test vehicles. They used mounting brackets with two different angles for differently angled windshields.

In some tests three transponders were fitted to the one vehicle to simulate closely spaced vehicles.

10,000 passes were the target sample size, SwRI says because Kapsch believed they could meet a 99.9% accuracy.

SwRI mention in several places in their report that the test drivers were under strict instructions to drive safely and a proper distance from other vehicles. For example: "The safety and security of the drivers and equipment... was given the highest priority. Drivers were instructed to stop if hazardous weather conditions occurred."

SwRI indeed reports 100% read results for all 27 drivers in both single tag and triple tag (called "Over Equipped") tests for a total of around 11,000 passes.

COMMENT: 100% is an extraordinary read rate! Perfection. We've heard claims of 99.95% and above in tests, but never 100%, at least not in test samples this large.

97 or 98% is considered good for transponders in actual use, and some do only 95 to 96%.

The SwRI test had the advantage of transponders mounted in cars by Kapsch staff, versus the norm of customer mounted transponders in the real world of electronic tolling, at least in the US. Customers make mistakes in mounting transponders. Some end up just holding them to the windshield and storing them in the glove box the rest of the time.

Also on real roads a proportion of drivers don't obey the safety rules of the kind SwRI laid down for their test drivers. Some tail-gate and get close to high trailers whose metallic mass can scramble the RF signals.

Real drivers keep driving in nasty weather where SwRI testers called it a day.

How far the three tag per vehicle set-up simulates close-spaced vehicles, we're unsure.

5.9GHz transponders are designed to be factory installed whether made by Kapsch or any other manufacturer so all brands would have a mounting advantage over present models.

All that said 100% accuracy for transponder reads in nearly 11k passes can't be beat.

VDAC detection accuracy of 99.74%, classification 88.62%

SwRI reports the Kapsch laser vehicle detection and classification system (LVDAC) in the same 11k+ test drives had a 99.74% rate. Only 31 out of 11,912 vehicle passes were not detected.

The detection rate plays into all the other operations since it is usually a 'trigger' for the reader, for classification, and the camera. Tou don't read if you don't first detect.

Loops, apparently Idris loops, in use by E470 had a tad better detection rate, SwRI reports - 99.76% But the difference, 99.76 and 99.74 is probably not statistically meaningful.

SwRI did two sets of classification tests of the Kapsch LVDAC units. The more stringent test required separation of Class 2 and 3 vehicles, the less stringent accepted them grouped as one class. Results were 88.62% accuracy and 96.86%. (FHWA F-series classification)

The loops do better in FHWA-F classification than the LVDAC - 92.32% and 98.07%. This is not surprising since the vehicle classes are based on axle count, and loops located where they are in the roadway seem inherently more suited to counting axles than any kind of overhead equipment which has real problems getting a useful angle of view of the wheel set.

LVDAC are usually used - as in 407ETR Toronto - for classing based on vehicle dimensions and size and distinguishing cars, straightbody trucks, and articulated or combination vehicles.

License plate reads 93.84% rear, 91.28% frontal

The Kapsch automatic optical character recognition expressed as a percentage correct of humanly readable plates with roughly the same 10k+ passes got results of 91.26% accuracy for frontal reads and 93.84% for rear camera reads.

SwRI make the unexceptionable assessment that results in use of the Kapsch gear should be similar in similar traffic conditions, on similar roads, using similar equipment, under similar environmental conditions.

BACKGROUND: Kapsch is a leading supplier of 5.8GHz European standard transponder/reader systems in Europe, Australia and South America. Headquartered in Vienna Austria it is a public company traded on the Vienna stock exchange and has grown in part by acquiring leading Swedish and Germany toll systems companies.

In June Kapsch bought up the Mobility Solutions division of TechnoCom Corp of Encino Califoprnia which has been a leader in 5.9GHz communications for the federal government supported Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) program aimed at using the most modern technology for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-roadside for a whole range of safety, convenience and commercial applications, including tolling.

Kapsch reports it has 200 projects working in over 30 countries with over 13 million transponders and other on-board units and over 11,000 equipped lanes. This includes parking payment lanes, access control lanes, special telematics lanes as well as toll lanes.

Kapsch TrafficCom US Corp, the American operation now has establishments in Sterling VA near Washington Dulles Airport and in California. They seem to be making a major push for business and represent a strong competitor for Raytheon, TransCore, ETC/Autostrade, Telvent/Caseta and other established US groups.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-10-28"

Related readings:

• First 5.9 GHz DSRC VII Network and Toll System Established on New York City Streets and Highways
• First 5.9 GHz DSRC VII Network and Toll System Established on New York City Streets and Highways: Kapsch TrafficCom United States Installs 40 Units
• Kapsch deploys wireless roadside system in New York
• Big Success with the Performance Evaluation of the New 5.9 GHz Tolling Technology from Kapsch TrafficCom at the Trial Facility in Denver, Colorado.
• Kapsch deploys wireless roadside system in New York

C2C communication with MIMO...

Berkeley tested the MIMO system (from LitePoint) in vehicular environments.

See the original article:
"
Berkeley Researchers Exploring DSRC Channel with LitePoint MIMO Test System

They're using IQnxn^plus to better understand channel characteristics and to test innovations

BERKELEY, CA — October 22, 2008 — Using one of the first LitePoint IQnxn^plus units to be shipped, Connectivity Lab researchers at University of California, Berkeley, are delving deeper into the channel characteristics of vehicles in motion communicating via dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) based on IEEE 802.11p. Using a 4x4 MIMO configuration, the team is now able to "see" multiple incoming waves, their directions and angles, and their interactions.

"Before, we were looking at the composite effects of the multipath signals but had no way to examine the various wave contributions. IQnxn^plus, using separate antennas, VSAs, and VSGs lets us better understand what’s going on in the physical channel," explained Ian Tan, a Berkeley graduate student and team member.

In addition, Tan said, the IQnxn^plus is being developed into a software-defined-radio (SDR) test bed. "It will provide a hardware platform for rapid prototyping of any improved communications schemes or beam-forming algorithms our group proposes. Naturally, seeing performance improvements with real hardware and software is much better than just simulations."

About DSRC

DSRC refers to one-way or two-way, short- to medium-range wireless communications methods intended specifically for automotive applications. Some applications envisioned using DSRC include: emergency warning system for vehicles, cooperative adaptive cruise control, cooperative forward collision warning, and intersection collision avoidance.

IEEE 802.11p is associated with DSRC. It is a draft amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard that adds wireless access targeted for the vehicular environment, and defines enhancements to 802.11 aimed at supporting Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications. This includes data exchange between high-speed vehicles and between the vehicles and the roadside infrastructure in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz (5.85-5.925 GHz).

Prior DSRC Work by Berkeley

The Connectivity Lab, working under the guidance of Professor Ahmad Bahai, had completed an earlier phase of DSRC exploration that looked at the effect of channel impairments on communications efficiency. "A lot of 802.11p specifications are based on 802.11a, which, in turn, targets primarily indoor wireless applications with stationary or slowly-moving radios," Tan explained. "At highway speeds, with multipath signals under both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight conditions, it is possible that 802.11p specifications could fall short on avoiding inter-carrier interference. Our work, using IQview VSAs and omni-directional antennas produced data from over 200 locations and required 50 GBs of storage. We found that, for the most part, 802.11p was suitable to the DSRC automotive environment for short packets. However, with longer packets, channel variance over the longer transmission times will exacerbate inter-carrier interference. As a result, we believe there are opportunities for enhanced performance with improved processing."

Current DSRC Work

The next phase of the Connectivity Lab’s research is to explore innovations, such as multi-antenna beamforming, that increase the communications robustness of 802.11p in environments with increased RF congestion, harsher multipath, and greater inter-vehicle distances "Here is where the MIMO tools of IQnxn^plus, and its use as an SDR test bed, will help us propose ways to improve DSRC communications," Tan concluded.

About LitePoint Corporation

LitePoint Corporation, based in Sunnyvale California, designs, develops, markets, and supports advanced wireless test solutions for: developers and marketers of branded wireless products; consumer electronics and contract manufacturers; and wireless IC designers. Through its in-house expertise in the design of wireless systems and ICs, LitePoint has developed innovative test solutions to assure products conform to specifications, interoperate with other compliant products, and perform as described. LitePoint's test products address both development and high-volume production, providing its customers with superior return on investment, accelerated time-to-market, improved manufacturing yields, improved product quality, and increased profitability. For more information, visit LitePoint at www.litepoint.com. "

As well, see here:
Berkeley Researchers Exploring DSRC Channel with LitePoint MIMO Test System
(Business News & Technology News, 23 Oct 2008)

Road test for vehicle-to-vehicle communication

Here comes the news from an academia partner of C2C-CC, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt DLR, on the demonstration of vehicle-to-vehicle communication on 22 and 23 of Oct. 2008 in Germany.

The orignal release:

Road test for vehicle-to-vehicle communication

"

22 October 2008

Car-to-car communication

A large-scale demonstration of inter-vehicle communication will take place on 22 and 23 October 2008. At the Opel proving ground in Dudenhofen near Frankfurt am Main, the new car-to-car (C2C) communication technology is demonstrated in real life. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is one of the parties involved in this project. On both days of the event, demonstrations will be given of the synergy between the separate technical components made by the partners in the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium (C2C-CC). DLR is joined in the consortium by almost all European automakers, several suppliers, and Fraunhofer and university institutes. The main contributions made by DLR scientists to this major project are the CODAR technology (Cooperative Object Detection And Ranging) and DLR's simulation expertise.

DLR operates a camera system transmitting large-scale image data

During the live demonstration, the audience, consisting of representatives from the automotive industry as well as journalists, will experience the state of the art in innovative C2C technology "live", allowing them to familiarise themselves with the new possibilities created by this technology. The demonstration will revolve around five selected case studies. DLR is responsible for one of these. The task assigned to DLR is to create an almost real-time representation of the traffic situation at the proving ground and all the communication links involved. The idea is to consolidate all the spontaneous, self-organising and short-lived communication links between the vehicles into a traffic situation display showing their precise geographic locations in such a way as to be insightful to laypersons as well. Other case studies will show how C2C technology can be used to prevent collisions between motorcycles and cars or to warn a driver of the presence of a breakdown van hidden from their view behind a curve in the road.

The C2C technology is considered to be a key technology for preventive road safety. The DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation (DLR-Institut für Kommunikation und Navigation) and the DLR Institute of Transportation Systems (DLR-Institut für Verkehrssystemtechnik) have made important contributions to this field over the past months, for instance by developing new methods for cooperative driver assistance based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

DLR is using this occasion to showcase its rather unique expertise in another way as well: During several overflights of the proving ground by a specially equipped research aircraft, high-resolution aerial images are recorded and analysed practically in real time to enable large-scale traffic situation assessment. For this purpose, DLR operates a camera system capable of transmitting large-scale image data (48 megapixels per photo, five by ten kilometres in two minutes) to a ground station. This system can record several images per second, enabling observation of dynamic processes such as road traffic. Parameters such as vehicle speeds, vehicle density and length of queues can be determined in this way. The system can improve traffic management during major events and calamities.

"

Companies join for advance automotive safety platform

G4App cooperates with Freescale on active vehicle safety product with emphases on 3D image processing and mobile communications:

Original article:

Companies join for advance automotive safety platform

"Joint platform brings dedicated short-range communications with Web connectivity to mainstream vehicles.

Freescale Semiconductor and G4 Apps are soon to announce availability of a jointly developed, production-ready automotive platform for safety and telematics applications. Designed to support a full range of mobile Web connectivity options including cellular and WiFi, the platform features an industry-proven module for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC).

DSRC is the protocol and radio interface used in the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) VII program for vehicle safety, using bandwidth set aside by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) exclusively for use in real-time vehicle safety and mobility applications. The platform’s cellular and WiFi connectivity and software services enable general-purpose mobile Web connectivity and support the mobility applications underway in the USDOT SAFE TRIP 21 initiative, as well as similar safety and mobility initiatives around the world.

Based on Freescale’s MPC5121e multicore microprocessor, the production-ready automotive safety and telematics platform enables a full-featured solution designed for implementation in volume trials under continuous use. The platform provides a comprehensive reference design that automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers can use to develop higher volume products. “Multiple wireless technologies and exceptional processing power are available today to improve vehicle mobility and safety systems,” said Mike Bryars, manager of Freescale’s Infotainment, Multimedia and Telematics Operation. “Our goal with this platform is to enable automotive manufacturers and suppliers to immediately undertake large-scale trials in everyday use and fine-tune their applications for ubiquitous roll out. The platform is based on the an automotive processor for telematics, enabling fast time to volume production of automotive-grade systems.”

The MPC5121e device provides an ideal processing platform for a wide range of automotive telematics and safety applications. Based on Power Architecture technology, the MPC5121e includes an advanced graphics accelerator required for high-resolution 3D processing, along with sufficient capability to support personal device and Web-based infotainment applications and real-time safety capabilities.

“The reduction of traffic fatalities through passive safety systems, such as passenger restraints and air bags, seems to have reached its limits,” said Bob Burrows, CEO of G4 Apps. “To help reduce fatalities even more, the automotive industry is moving to minimise accidents through the use of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications and real-time collision warnings. These same technologies enable us to streamline drive time, improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. With DSRC-based safety applications already running and a host of proven mobility and navigation products now available, our jointly developed platform is designed to provide a visible, reliable and cost-effective solution for the auto industry.”"

Other expresses:
Freescale and G4 Apps Jointly Develop Automotive Safety and Telematics Platform [October 16, 2008]