Hyderabad, May 11
Cars are offering more than mobility with most new generation of vehicles Internet-enabled. With the passengers carrying smartphones and wearables, the car is a virtual network of smart devices – if used properly.
Global automobile major Suzuki Motor Corporation and its Indian peer Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) have joined hands with IIT-H to work on a futuristic communication technology that lets vehicles talk to one another and avert accidents.
When equipped with V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication technology, one vehicle can send alerts to another, when needed to take corrective action and avoid collision.
“It can help an ambulance send alerts, which will be transmitted live to the cars along the road, prodding them to give way,” a Maruti Suzuki official said.
The alert system will also share minute details like the distance between the vehicles on a real-time basis. Car drivers get a pre-alert about the presence of a vehicle approaching the wrong way.
Real-time information is shared with the driver about the distance and direction of the approach, averting head-one collisions. The uses can be many – a smart car equipped with V2X can save pedestrians, send info on road hazards such as potholes, as it negotiates them, to vehicles behind, giving them more time to avoid the problem.
The three partners demonstrated the technology at the institute’s Kandi facility near here on Wednesday, with five Maruti Suzuki’ Balenos showcasing how the solution can help ensure accident-free roads.
These prototype vehicles, and use case scenarios were demonstrated to Munisekhar Avileli, Advisor of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Kishore Babu YGSC, Deputy Director General (Standardisation-R&D-Innovation) of Department of Telecommunications, VJ Christopher, Director (Wireless Monitoring Organization, DoT) and Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary (Industries and Commerce and IT, Government of Telangana).
The technology can also help tap the idle computing capacity of the microprocessor in the car when it is not being used for driving.