Automotive technologies are expanding at a dramatic rate over the past years. A lot of these cars are becoming more powerful, more efficient, and safer. A new wave of technologies is expected to reduce road accidents by helping the driver anticipate and avoid accidents before they happen. One such innovation is Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technology, also popularly known as V2V. What is this technology, how does it work, and how can it potentially change the automotive industry as we know it?
Vehicle-to-vehicle technology or V2V is a technology that allows vehicles in close proximity to each other to send and receive various forms of data. Examples of such data include present road conditions, traveling speeds, and any signs of loss of stability. These data are sent and received by vehicles with the help of presently available technologies such as dedicated short range communication modules such as Wi-Fi. Frequencies used for V2V may still vary depending on the country and other future developments, but one possible frequency that may be used is 5.9GHz.
V2V technology is still under development, but it is expected to be a mesh-type network. This simply means that multiple units, also called nodes, can send and receive signals across the V2V network. Aside from cars, other objects that can serve as nodes include traffic lights and stations. Going for a mesh-type approach allows for quick relaying of information that can be received by both motorists and those in-charge of maintaining traffic safety. Signals can be received from up to a mile away, giving everyone concerned more than enough time to make necessary adjustments and decisions for optimal road safety.
Vehicle-to-vehicle technologies are still under development at this time, but the first generation of cars with built-in V2V modules are already on the road in 2017. First-generation V2V models are only capable of receiving and relaying warnings for situations such as driving hazards. The system will alert the driver of impending trouble, with alerts becoming more intense depending on how close or serious the threat is. Future V2V models are expected to take a more active approach in avoiding such hazards. In the future, these cars are expected to be capable of automatically braking and steering away from trouble, even without driver’s input.
While it remains to be seen how effective the V2V approach would be on the long term, everyone from car manufacturers and national governments are pitching in to give this system at least a fair chance of succeeding. Countries such as United States already have proposals in place to make V2V systems mandatory, with some of them already enacted by law. At the same time, car manufacturers are making their new cars V2V-ready, with retrofitting systems soon to be made available for older models. Extensive testing is also underway to both improve the effectiveness of the V2V system and to expand its functions for better safety.
Only time will tell how effective Vehicle-to-Vehicle technology will be, but we think that the development of such technologies is a step towards the right direction.
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