As ridiculous as this sounds, vehicles in the near future will be talking to each other as well as with their surroundings. This particular technology is what is referred to as vehicle to everything communication.
Vehicle to Everything Communication
Vehicle to everything communication refers to a communication system that supports the transfer of information between a vehicle and any other entity that may be affected by the vehicle or that may affect the vehicle.
Entities could include traffic lights, other vehicles, pedestrians, or traffic management systems.
It is good to note that v2x communication is wireless and could be achieved through an nxp v2x solution.
V2x communication can be broken down into 4 categories:
Vehicle to network or V2N
This refers to when a vehicle accesses the network for cloud-based services. It is also referred to as vehicle to cloud or V2C.
A vehicle is connected to data centers, road infrastructure, as well as other cars, via the cloud. It would come in handy say when a vehicle has a faulty GPS in that it can communicate with other vehicles to update its navigation system.
Vehicle to vehicle or V2V
It is the transfer of data or information between vehicles. It offers a little more than basic sensors in the sense that information can be transmitted to and from a couple of hundred meters away or even through barriers like a truck in between the vehicles.
Vehicle to pedestrian or V2P
It is the exchange of data between cars and pedestrians.
It requires some level of collaboration between onboard monitoring tools and a touch of communication with pedestrians’ mobile phones.
For practicality, imagine this, a vehicle cruising along town is encountering some trouble with its braking system. Sounds dangerous, right? Its onboarding system could now deliver a notification informing nearby pedestrians of its predicament and avoiding plenty of carnage.
The problem with this is that it requires pedestrians to be willing to use their phones as a safety alert guide.
Vehicle to infrastructure or V2I
It is the exchange of data between a vehicle and roadside units. A roadside unit refers to equipment that is installed alongside roads.
Roadside units could be a camera, street lights, road signs, and more. A sample use of this is broadcasting traffic conditions to drivers.
How Vehicle to Everything Communication Works
In a vehicle-to-everything communication system, information is transmitted from and to a vehicle’s sensors among other sources through high-bandwidth and high-reliability links that allow vehicles to communicate with each other. Vehicles also communicate with roadside units (infrastructure) like traffic lights and parking spaces as well as pedestrians.
Information on the state of traffic is also shared which very much improves traffic efficiency as drivers are warned of upcoming traffic or suggested alternatives to congested routes.
By sharing information like potential dangers and accident sites driver awareness is improved which helps reduce fatalities in event of a collision when installed on traditional vehicles.
Drivers can also receive information like weather patterns, road conditions, alerts about approaching emergency vehicles like ambulances, and road works warnings – basically anything that is going on on the road that is out of the ordinary and may cause an accident.
In autonomous or self-driving cars, they may provide more information to the existing vehicle navigation. The vehicle using the vehicle-to-everything system can also scan the surrounding environment and make instantaneous decisions based on the information received.
Ins and Outs of Vehicle to Everything Communication
Depending on the kind of technology in use, the mechanisms in vehicle-to-everything communication vary as follows;
Dedicated short-range communication
DSRC links two senders that are in close proximity to each other enabling them to communicate – a specific communication device notwithstanding. The fact that no specific device is needed for communication makes it suitable for less developed areas.
It uses WLAN technology.
It operates in a short range of distances less than one kilometer and runs in the unlicensed 5.9 GHZ band. DRSC surpasses basic line of sight sensors such as radar in that it provides basic information like accident notices and toll payments.
DRSC is unaffected by weather conditions however adverse which essentially means even in times of heavy rains or snow, it still can scan the environment to deliver accurate data.
Cellular vehicle-to-everything communication
This is an alternative to DSRC that uses LTE as the chief fundamental technology. LTE, an acronym for Long Term Evolution is a standard broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals.
It is tailored for active safety warnings like road hazard warnings.
It includes various operational modes that users can choose from and still allows the device to use vehicle-to-cloud communication.
Benefits of Vehicle-to-Everything Communication.
Vehicle-to-everything communication has been a revelation allowing vehicles to communicate with other vehicles and other road users sharing critical information about their surroundings in a way that connects pretty everyone on the road at a particular time.
Some advantages of vehicle-to-everything communication include:
Time-saving
It is safe to say we have all been late to something important or otherwise thanks to traffic jams, especially in urban areas. Well, with this technology drivers can receive information on traffic status like where there is congestion and they can plan ahead, or better yet, the on-board system can suggest a new route to take.
Convenience for driving
Upon reception of vital information like an accident having happened somewhere, or there being a traffic snarl-up in some place, drivers can plan accordingly and avoid inconveniences.
Improved road safety
Information such as what is beyond a bend or the presence of an oncoming vehicle that is obstructed by a truck helps to improve awareness among road users. In this way, they can avoid another accident or reduce fatalities in case one happens.
Optimized fuel consumption
Based on information received from entities like traffic lights and traffic management systems, vehicles can adjust their speed to a recommended speed which leads to better, more efficient fuel consumption.
Environmental conservation
As discussed above, vehicles can adjust their speed to recommended speed which in turn can reduce carbon emission and bring down pollution.
It however is not all roses and sunshine as v2x communication has some challenges as well.
Challenges
Privacy issues
With everyone in the modern day being very concerned with their personal privacy, it is not easy having to convince them of technology that connects everyone sending and receiving information autonomously. Matters of hacking and privacy of location arise.
It gets more complicated when it comes to vehicle-to-pedestrian communication because pedestrians have to use their personal mobile devices to receive alerts.
Infrastructure
Imagine having to update all your road signs, traffic lights, parking lots, and other roadside infrastructure all to be able to support vehicle-to-everything communication. It does not in any way sound easy or a one-day job and it most certainly is not.
Plainly put, it would take meticulous planning, which would probably be long term not to mention expensive to put up as well.
Vehicle-to-everything communication is implemented through several solutions among them using an NXP v2x chipset and here is how.
NXP v2x chipset as an NXP v2x solution
These chips, with modern-day cutting-edge technology, as used in v2x technology based on software-defined algorithms deliver transmitted and received messages with a better range.
Some of these chips are able to receive and verify up to two thousand messages per second.