Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a leader in bringing innovative safety and driver technology in mainstream vehicles. This week, Ford demonstrated how far they’ve come in car-to-car communication technology. Ford also showed what the future of driving may look like with talking vehicles that can warn of hazards and traffic ahead. Ford is one of the first automakers to build prototype vehicles demonstrating this exciting new technology.
With vehicle-to-vehicle communication, intelligent cars talk to each other wirelessly, warning drivers of potential dangers. Utilizing advanced wi-fi technology and GPS, intelligent vehicles will help drivers identify and respond to potential dangers as well as identify conveniences while on the road. With this technology cars will be able to send messages to other cars about where they are and where they’re headed.
If there is an accident or any other potential driving hazard coming up, vehicles will be able to instantly receive information about the upcoming dangers, giving drivers more notice and time to respond. The new technology is based on a DVI system – which stands for Driver Vehicle Information. This technology provides either audible or visual cues to alert drivers of what potential dangers coming ahead.
Intelligent vehicles show great potential in assisting drivers during hazardous situations, such as intersections where the view is compromised in one or both directions or a change in speed of traffic patterns – also called is traffic situation awareness.
If several vehicles are driving on a road, one behind the other, and of the vehicles at the head of the pack suddenly brakes, that motion would be communicated to the vehicles behind the one that slammed on the brakes. This could be especially helpful in times where a driver’s view is obstructed – for example, while driving in fog or while driving behind a large truck.
Another feature is blind spot assistance. Ford’s leading blind spot technology warns drivers when another vehicle enters their blind spot. With this type of sensor technology, it can help drivers anticipate other cars approaching quickly from behind before the other vehicle even enters the driver’s blind spot.
Although there is still more work to be done, Ford is leading the research into intelligent vehicles and smart intersection technologies. This is helping to rebuild the company’s proud legacy, which has been built on innovation leading to safer, smarter driving.
Ford didn’t invent this technology. It is part of a larger initiative involving multiple car companies and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The GPS chips used by Ford were no different than those in common use today in navigation devices and in phones. The accuracy has gotten down to about 3 feet.