Electronic Nervous System for the Modern Vehicle

Driver assistance system using cameras and sensors is about to have dramatic effect on the automobile. The article by Christoph Hammerschmidt from EETimes Europe provided a glance on the state of the art on CMOS image sensors and DSP technologies applied in driver assistance systems. As an outlook, the article also revealed that driver assistance systems are evolving to a kind of electronic nervous system for the modern car, which is able to perform lane maintaining, traffic sign recognition, pedestrian recognition and even virtual situation imaging using car-to-car communication.

The article is available at: The thinking car sees a clear road ahead @ EETimes Dec. 2008

Vision on Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications from Delphi

An article from Mike Trudel, expresses the vision on Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication technologies from Delphi:

"Using a combination of global positioning navigation devices, short-distance radio communication and input from existing in-vehicle sensors, which is also referred to as Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), cars equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle communications (V2V) can tell each other where they are and calculate whether danger threatens. ..."

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"

EU Project EVITA on Intrusion Protected Vehicular Applications

Trusted Cars

The newly launched EU-Project EVITA aims at the information security in vehicular communications, e.g. for the toll collection or safety applications.

In the future, vehicles would be able to warning the driver about approaching dangers by using wireless coommunication technologies. However, to have these application running available on the market, the probelm of information security has to be solved. The goal of EU-Project EVITA is "a system that can protect both safety relevant componets in the car and the communications among different units from manipulation", as stated by the project coordinator Dr. Olaf Henniger.  

The EU funds this 3-year project with 3.8 Million euro, and other cost are from the project partners.  The participants include: BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG, escrypt GmbH, EURECOM, Fraunhofer ISI, Fujitsu Services AB, Infineon Technologies AG, die Universität Löwen, MIRA Ltd., Institut TELECOM/ParisTech und TRIALOG.

Original release (in German): : http://www.sit.fraunhofer.de/pressedownloads/pressemitteilungen/20080819.jsp 

EVITA poject Website:

http://evita-project.org/

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.

"

Car-2-Car communications demonstrated by BMW, VW, Nissan and GM

Considered as the following up activities from the spectrum regulation of 30MHz ITS frequency band at 5.9GHz in EU, BMW, VW, Nissan, and GM have demonstrated their active safety systems based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies:

BMW announces Car-2-Car communications development

*Picture from motorauthority

The Car-2-Car Communication Consortium (C2C-CC) consisting of various European manufacturers, including BMW, Daimler, Renault, Fiat, VW, Honda, Opel, Volvo and Audi has been working on the European Car-2-Car (C2C) communication system that has standard interface agreed by all carmakers and a uniform frequency radio frequency enable the cars to communication effectively.

The recently approved the 5.9 GHz frequency band specifically for C2C communications in Europe marked a key milestone in the standardiyation process for C2C industry.

BMW's C2C system enables vehicles to communicate with other vehicles in the vicinity for the purpose of danger warning, and traffic information exchange. The communication is performed using the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology, which organizes vehicles into ad-hoc wireless network on the road.

Similar system has been developed not only by the partners from C2C-CC, e.g. VW, but also by carmakers outside of the initiative, such as Nissan and General Motors. The systems have to be compatible with each other for being truely effective.

Source and picture courtesy: motorauthority

Volkswagen's Car-2-Car system begins testing


Volkswagen performed a test of its Car-2-Car communication system with a Passat and a Golf, which both use the WLAN technology for information exchange between the cars. Each vehicle can access to the car bus throught the "Car Gate" and get a abstract of car data, such as speed, wheel speeds or status of the hazard flashers, and exchange the information with adjacent vehicles in order to help drivers to aviod adverse situations.

For more information and photo courtesy: motorauthority

Related readings:
Nissan to pilot pedestrian collision avoidance system
GM develops second-generation car-to-car communications system