Volvo Car Group (7192 Volvo Cars), the 746 Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (7446 Statens Vegvesen) are joining forces in a pilot project in which road friction information from individual cars is shared within a cloud-based system.
The pilot uses 50 Volvo Cars; when the test car detects an icy or slippery patch of road, the information is transmitted to Volvo Cars’ database via the mobile phone network. An instant warning is transmitted to other vehicles approaching the area, making it possible for the drivers to take immediate action to avoid a critical situation.
A warning on the instrument cluster alerts the driver. The in-vehicle application will be designed to adapt the driver warning to match the severity level based on the vehicle speed and the present road conditions.
Information about the road condition is also sent to the road administrator as a complement to existing weather measurement stations along the road. The data can help the road administrator to better plan and execute winter road maintenance and quickly address changed conditions.
“The pilot is one of the first practical examples of the way communication between vehicles over the mobile network enables vehicles to ‘speak’ to each other and with the traffic environment. This can contribute to making traffic safer,” says Erik Israelsson, project leader cooperative ITS (Intelligent Transport System) at Volvo Cars.
“We have 50 test cars on the roads, and next winter the fleet will grow considerably. Our aim is to make the technology available for our customers within a few years,” he adds.
The pilot uses 50 Volvo Cars; when the test car detects an icy or slippery patch of road, the information is transmitted to Volvo Cars’ database via the mobile phone network. An instant warning is transmitted to other vehicles approaching the area, making it possible for the drivers to take immediate action to avoid a critical situation.
A warning on the instrument cluster alerts the driver. The in-vehicle application will be designed to adapt the driver warning to match the severity level based on the vehicle speed and the present road conditions.
Information about the road condition is also sent to the road administrator as a complement to existing weather measurement stations along the road. The data can help the road administrator to better plan and execute winter road maintenance and quickly address changed conditions.
“The pilot is one of the first practical examples of the way communication between vehicles over the mobile network enables vehicles to ‘speak’ to each other and with the traffic environment. This can contribute to making traffic safer,” says Erik Israelsson, project leader cooperative ITS (Intelligent Transport System) at Volvo Cars.
“We have 50 test cars on the roads, and next winter the fleet will grow considerably. Our aim is to make the technology available for our customers within a few years,” he adds.
