Skip to main content

Ford demonstrates talking vehicles using LTE

Ford has demonstrated its latest advancements in vehicle-to-vehicle communications at the final CoCarX (Co-operative Cars Extended) research project presentation, further highlighting the viability of improving road safety and traffic management through the use of intelligent vehicles.
April 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSS278 Ford has demonstrated its latest advancements in vehicle-to-vehicle communications at the final CoCarX (Co-operative Cars Extended) research project presentation, further highlighting the viability of improving road safety and traffic management through the use of intelligent vehicles.

Ford is the first to showcase vehicle-to-vehicle communication using the new mobile communications network LTE (Long Term Evolution), which enables much faster data transmission than existing proposed systems.

The company's sophisticated vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology will play a key role in the CoCarX presentation in Düsseldorf, Germany, the culmination of a project that began in 2009 with the aim of developing the systems and infrastructure that would allow vehicles to update each other with hazard, driving condition and traffic information.

Leveraging localised radio frequencies and the latest mobile phone network technology, Ford's vehicle-to-vehicle communication system allows individual cars to broadcast messages to other vehicles - keeping them informed and allowing them to prepare for road conditions they are yet to encounter.

Two Ford S-Max vehicles demonstrated the company’s developmental vehicle-to-vehicle warning system, designed to prevent drivers being taken by surprise by rapidly developing situations and changing conditions. For example, hard braking of the lead S-Max triggers an emergency signal that is displayed inside the following S-Max within less than 100 milliseconds.

"Intelligent vehicles, able to send and receive messages in fractions of a second, could help warn drivers of dangers neither they nor their hazard monitoring safety systems could spot, be it because of the distance to the hazard or obstacles that block the view ahead, such as heavy traffic or bends in the road," says Christian Ress, connectivity technical expert, global driver assistance and active safety.

Ford believes the ability to utilise broadband communication channels such as LTE will allow large numbers of vehicles to stay in immediate contact with each other in the future, potentially reducing the frequency of accidents, aiding traffic flow and easing road congestion - in turn reducing CO2 emissions.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK government to investigate best practice for travel information
    January 30, 2012
    The UK Government has been advised by an internal inquiry that it should investigate examples of best practice in travel information services. So where might it look? Jon Masters reports. Publication of a UK Government report on road congestion this year has highlighted a need to look beyond home borders when searching out answers to pressing problems. With regard to issues of travel information in particular, UK transport professionals would do well to look overseas for solutions they can emulate.
  • US to test connected vehicle technologies in six cities
    April 25, 2012
    The US Department of Transportation has announced the six cities where it will hold Driver Acceptance Clinics for the connected vehicle programme. The first clinic will be held in Brooklyn, MI, near Detroit, in August, while the remaining clinics will be held in Minneapolis, Orlando, FL, Blacksburg, VA, Dallas and San Francisco.
  • Computer technology increasingly aids traffic management
    February 3, 2012
    Alan Perrott, Tyco Fire & Integrated Solutions (UK) Ltd, looks at trends in CCTV technology for traffic surveillance applications
  • Mexico’s Durango-Mazatlan highway sets tunnel safety standard
    August 26, 2016
    Mauro Nogarin looks at the management of the longer tunnels on Mexico’s Durango-Mazatlan highway. In recent years the National Infrastructure Fund of Mexico has increased investment in the installation of ITS systems on selected highways to increase road safety. One such major investment is the 230km long Durango-Mazatlan highway which is 12m in width and has an average speed of 110km/h.