Mercedes Supporting V2V Research in US and Europe
Mercedes-Benz’s R&D arm in North America is supporting the US Department of Transport’s Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Model Deployment project by supplying a fleet of vehicles to test the new technology.
Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it is currently the world’s biggest deployment of connected vehicles out in the open roads, with some 2,800 road vehicles of all types connected by a 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) wireless system.
The purpose of this trial is to evaluate, in real world scenarios, automotive safety technology based on wireless communications between vehicles. Mercedes believes that when operated in tandem with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, V2V systems are useful tools in accident avoidance. Academia, industry, and government have all come together to back the project.
Merc’s contribution to the project is a fleet of eight C 300 passenger cars and three Freightliner heavy duty commercial trucks. The C 300s feature LED strip lighting on the dashboard that warn the driver of an impending collision risk, whilst the Freightliners will employ the use of tablet devices to display warnings. As part of the test programme, local residents of Ann Arbor will operate these vehicles for a year and provide researchers with the necessary feedback.
Concurrently, Mercedes is also heading a similar project in Europe, dubbed simTD (‘Safe Intelligent Mobility – test field Germany’). This project is a V2V field trial in real-life traffic conditions on the roads of the Rhine-Main region.
Update (23/8/2012): Also actively participating in V2V research is Ford, who are also contributing vehicles to the US Department of Transport initiative to join the fleet of 3,000 vehicles being tested. The company is also participating in the simTD programme, providing 20 specially equipped S-Max MPVs to the 120-vehicle fleet to test 20 experimental driver assistance technologies as part of a four-year research project.
KON
