- Ford tests early warning car-to-car communication feature that
alerts following drivers to vehicles braking ahead – even around corners
and through traffic
- Experimental technology called “Electronic Brake Light”
transmits a wireless signal to illuminate a dashboard light on following
vehicles
- The technology is among 20 systems Ford tested for Safe Intelligent Mobility – Testfield Germany (simTD);
the joint industry research project’s field testing period, which
concluded in December last year, finds intelligent transport systems
could reduce congestion and potentially improve safety
- Specially-equipped Ford S-MAX models were used to test the technologies for simTD;
Ford also tested Obstacle Warning, which alerts drivers to objects on
the road, and Traffic Sign Assistant, which provides up-to-date
information from traffic management centres
Ford Motor Company participated in a special test of a high-tech
early warning “brake light” that can warn drivers following behind even
if they are around a bend or behind other traffic.
The technology is one of 20 potential future systems Ford tested as part of Safe Intelligent Mobility – Testfield Germany (sim
TD), a four-year joint industry research project.
In emergency braking situations, the experimental “Electronic Brake
Light” transmits a wireless signal to illuminate a dashboard light in
cars following behind. The study found the technology could enable
drivers following behind to brake earlier and potentially mitigate or
avoid a collision.
The closing presentation for the sim
TD project today took
place in Frankfurt, Germany, with a demonstration of technologies
including those tested and developed by Ford, and a summary of the
findings from the research project’s field tests, which concluded in
December 2012.
The sim
TD field tests took place in the Frankfurt region
and involved 500 test drivers in 120 vehicles – including 20 Ford S-MAX
models. Testers logged more than 41,000 hours and 1.6 million kilometers
on public roads and an enclosed test track.
“Car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications represent one of
the next major advancements in vehicle safety,” said Paul Mascarenas,
Ford’s chief technical officer and vice president, Ford Research and
Innovation. “Ford is committed to further real-world testing here and
around the world with the goal of implementation in the foreseeable
future.”
Ford used specially-equipped Ford S-MAX models to help test the
potential of car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication; also
testing Obstacle Warning system, which alerts to the presence, position
and type of potentially hazardous objects in the road, and Traffic Sign
Assistant, that remains in contact with traffic management centres for
up-to-date information.
Engineers from Ford’s European Research Centre in Aachen, Germany,
led the Electronic Brake Light development, testing and data analysis.
Further technologies tested for sim
TD included:
- Public Traffic Management, which provides exact traffic
prognosis based on comprehensive information; this includes identifying
likely traffic scenarios and their impact at the point in the journey
when they are encountered rather than at the point of departure
- In-car Internet Access, which, for example enables the driver to
receive information about free parking spaces or check traffic hotspots
by receiving up-to-date pictures from traffic cameras.
As a global leader in researching car-to-car and
car-to-infrastructure communications, Ford is engaged in the European
Commission-supported field operational tests DRIVE C2X, and in the U.S.
contributing to Safety Pilot Model Deployment, a field test of more than
2,800 vehicles in cooperation with the University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor.
Collating results from these programmes supports Ford’s objective of
harmonising standards for messaging and hardware globally that would
enable the delivery of new technologies faster, more efficiently, and
more economically.
sim
TD is a joint project by leading German automotive
manufacturers, component suppliers, communication companies, research
institutions and public authorities. The funding for the project was
approximately €53 million, of which €30 million of direct project
promotional support was provided by the Federal Ministry of Economics
and Technology (BMWi) together with the Federal Ministry of Education
and Research (BMBF).
The project was further supported by infrastructure investment from
the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development
(BMVBS) as well as active participation from the state of Hessen. The
consortium involved representatives from all major interest groups,
including Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Opel, Volkswagen, Bosch,
Continental, Deutsche Telekom, regional infrastructure operators and
German Research Institutions (Technische Universität München und Berlin,
Universität Würzburg, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft).
Article and image courtesy of Ford.
