Why do V2V and V2X sound like science fiction? It comes down to competing technologies, government reluctance, and an industry betting on the wrong horse.
It sounds like an idyllic vision for the future: Cars automatically and seamlessly talking to other cars to warn about traffic ahead, bicycles wirelessly transmitting their position and speed to nearby vehicles, even construction signs beaming information about upcoming lane closures to oncoming trucks while they're still miles away.
Europe embraced similar standards, and all was looking great until, well, nothing really happened. For a long time. Various vehicle manufacturers and research organizations showed concept after concept. We covered GM's efforts in 2006. These glimpses of the bright, safe, interconnected future to come were always just that—the future. Finally, after about 15 years of standards evolving and industry groups bickering, things started to look like they were going to get real.
One way or another, the basic idea is getting vehicles talking among themselves and also to the world around them, receiving real-time intel on everything from road construction to weather conditions."For example," Abuelsamid said,"a car driving down the road hits a patch of ice and activates ESC or the driver slams on the brakes. A basic safety message is broadcast to other vehicles or roadside units within about 1,000 meters.
Platooning: This is when a number of cars engage a sort of next-gen, semi-autonomous adaptive cruise control, getting into a row and driving at high speed only inches apart. This boosts both aerodynamics and speed, reducing traffic congestion and fuel consumption along the way. But, as Abuelsamid said, it's not a replacement for a dedicated solution:"There is latency in systems like Waze, and it's inherently less reliable because it relies on users to input information, which also contributes to distraction." Lanctot put it more bluntly:"Waze, at its best, is distracting and dangerous."Much like V2V and V2X implementations, autonomous vehicles have taken years longer to come to market than some expected.
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