Vehicle Connectivity and Automation to Increase Rapidly; Car-to-Car Communications Field Test Begins

According to the delegates and speakers that attended last week's Centre for Automotive Research Seminar which took place in Michigan, there will be a rapid acceleration in vehicle connectivity of all kinds over the next decade. Until this point when one has talked about "connectivity" it has mainly related to communications connectivity to do with introducing the kind of navigation, entertainment and business technology apps that have been available for some years on the new generation of smartphones. However, there is a new paradigm rapidly developing in the industry which will see OEMs and technology companies work together on car-to-car vehicle communication. The regulators in the US are embracing the concept, despite the extensive "distracted driving" debate that went with the initial push for vehicle communications connectivity. However, car-to-car connectivity has the potential to mitigate these issues through collision avoidance systems and the mood among regulators in the US and elsewhere is increasingly to embrace the potential of the technology.

IHS Automotive's Senior Director Phil Gott attended the seminar and summarised the key points of the discussion on the new car-to-car connectivity paradigm thus: "Car-to-infrastructure can advise traffic monitoring systems as well as road maintenance crews about slippery or damaged road conditions. In winter sand and salt crews can be more cost-effectively dispatched to treat areas of need rather than all roads all the time, for example. The dream is the autonomous car. Expected to be accident-free, it will be a true answer, if it ever comes about, to sustainable transportation, as a car that does not crash does not need the armor and passive and active safety systems that add so much weight and cost to cars today. But there is debate about how much of this we can really do without.  Issues of privacy, legal responsibility, and how to deal with the 250+ million driver-based cars on the road are some of the more significant challenges." He also added that the consensus was that the technology already exists to rapidly increase car-to-car connectivity to facilitate advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in passenger cars, the majority of which will be aimed at improving safety through the elimination of accidents and collisions. In itself this has the potential for a paradigm shift that could revolutionise the industry with between 80 and 90% of all accidents being caused directly by driver error.

As an illustration of the growing momentum behind these kind of technologies is being offered in Germany with the beginning of one of the largest field tests of car-to-car connectivity technology so far in the form of the C2X initiative. In what is described as a "social network for cars" by participant Daimler, 120 vehicles will take to the roads of the Rhine-Main region until the end of the year. Each car has a network link to the others, as well as to the traffic infrastructure, and they will keep each other updated about the current traffic situation. The functionality of the technology network which will be tested is as follows according to a Daimler press release:

• If the tail-end of a traffic jam on the autobahn is hidden behind the crest of a hill, vehicles approaching the problem area can be alerted in good time, allowing the driver to take appropriate action.

• In situations where drivers have difficulty seeing what is happening on the road ahead of them, C2X technology can help to prevent pile-ups, e.g. by providing information about an emergency stop to traffic further back, even if the actual brake lights may be hidden by a lorry.

• C2X systems can also do their bit to make traffic more efficient and thus more environmentally friendly, e.g. by helping to control traffic light systems according to demand, thereby optimising traffic flow.

• In addition, it can offer a range of convenient functions such as suggested routes to the nearest available car park. That makes C2X communication a key element in the technology of the driver assistance and safety systems of the future.

Outlook and Implications

There are many drivers for enhanced vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity which will logically and eventually lead to the technology's apogee, which will be the fully automated car that will require no input from a human driver whatsoever. There are obviously many barriers to overcome before this point is reached, not least cost at a time when many global OEMs are concerned about the medium- and long-term development of traditional, mature market places, while some European OEMs are finding the current business environment extremely difficult. The cost of developing these systems will not be insubstantial and what is required are regional and industrial alliances in order to share the cost of development and agree the regulatory environment and pace of the technology's introduction, such as the DRIVE C2X programme in Europe. In addition, it will also be a difficult task to initially persuade customers to pay for the extra technology content of vehicles, while the eventual shift to fully automated "driverless" cars will require an extensive education and PR programme by OEMs and governments in order to sell the concept. Commenting on the relationship between the consumer and the introduction of these new technologies Phil Gott said, "A major challenge is to get the consumer to pay for all the systems, including those that do not yield tangible benefits on a daily basis. Expect to see more infotainment and connectivity, interface with smart phones and streaming programs, etc. that will be priced to pay for car to car and car to infrastructure communications."

Initial studies show that consumers are far more interested in tangible benefits offered by ADAS than they are by perhaps the more frivolous applications offered by the new wave of connectivity technology such as in-car social media apps (see United States: 8 June 2012: New Research Suggests Drivers Do Not Want Social Media Apps in Cars—Report). However, this should arguably act as a catalyst for the OEMs and regulators to press ahead with developing and introducing the technology, with consumers apparently receptive to the potential safety benefits of vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity. There are other significant market drivers that make enhanced vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity an inevitability, including increasing congestion levels in mature and developing markets, as well as ageing population demographics. Vehicle connectivity has the potential to extend the car owning and driving timespans of the elderly and may present a significant opportunity to the OEMs in terms of marketing and introducing the technology.