Telematics and the future of V2X

Telematics and the future of V2X

Much of the momentum behind the US Federal government’s current push for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) deployment can be traced to the safety benefits this technology will offer drivers—and, by extension, society, the governing bodies that maintain the transportation system, and other stakeholders. Nevertheless, it will be challenging to capitalize on V2X’s safety potential until it has been implemented in a critical mass of vehicles on the road.

An examination of the safety applications on the horizon highlights the need for aftermarket partners to speed deployment of V2X in more than just new vehicles. It also raises questions as to how the regulatory landscape will need to shift to accommodate this new level of integrated and connected communication.

“The challenges confronting decision-makers evaluating potential regulation of connected vehicle deployment are formidable,” notes attorney Paul Laurenza in a 2010 Dykema white paper. (For more on V2V and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technology, see Special report: Telematics and V2V/V2X technologies.)

Key safety features

“In any variety of crash scenarios, the US DOT says 82% of [incidents] could be mitigated by V2V or V2X,” says Richard Wallace, director of transportation systems analysis for the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Group. Although this figure does not include crashes that involve impaired drivers, Wallace believes V2X could eventually be combined with other technologies to detect impaired drivers and get them off the road. (For more on the DOT, see DOT’s distraction guidelines as challenge and opportunity, What DOT’s new distraction guidelines mean for telematics, and Distraction guidelines as a telematics business opportunity.)

Wallace adds that V2X will be helpful in a number of the most “critical crash scenarios,” which include intersections and roads with a single lane in either direction. Once equipped with enough base maps with high enough resolution, a V2X system could alert drivers when they’re deviating from their lane or crossing the median. It could offer alerts to ward off forward ‘fender-bender’ crashes as well as rear-end crashes and other potential collision opportunities, such as blind spots and navigating intersections.

“It really is 360-degree awareness, with connectivity that sensor-based systems can’t provide,” Wallace says. “And if we integrate the two, that’s an even better package.”

Read more: https://www.tu-auto.com/telematics-and-the-future-of-v2x/