Vehicular Communication Systems

Vehicular communication systems are computer networks in which vehicles and roadside units are the communicating nodes, providing each other with information, such as safety warnings and traffic information. They can be effective in avoiding accidents and traffic congestion. Both types of nodes are dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) devices. DSRC works in 5.9 GHz band with bandwidth of 75 MHz and approximate range of 300 m. Vehicular communications is usually developed as a part of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The main motivation for vehicular communication systems is safety and eliminating the excessive cost of traffic collisions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road accidents annually cause approximately 1.2 million deaths worldwide; one fourth of all deaths caused by injury. A study from the American Automobile Association (AAA) concluded that car crashes cost the United States $300 billion per year. It can be used for automated traffic intersection control.

 However the deaths caused by car crashes are in principle avoidable. The U.S. Department of Transportation states that 21,000 of the annual 43,000 road accident deaths in the US are caused by roadway departures and intersection-related incidents. This number can be significantly lowered by deploying local warning systems through vehicular communications. Departing vehicles can inform other vehicles that they intend to depart the highway and arriving cars at intersections can send warning messages to other cars traversing that intersection. Studies show that in Western Europe a mere 5 km/h decrease in average vehicle speeds could result in 25% decrease in deaths.

V2V (short for vehicle to vehicle; see also VANET) is an automobile technology designed to allow automobiles to "talk" to each other. The systems will use a region of the 5.9 GHz band set aside by the United States Congress in 1999, the unlicensed frequency also used by WiFi. V2V is currently in active development by General Motors, which demonstrated the system in 2006 using Cadillac vehicles. Other automakers working on V2V include BMW, Daimler, Honda, Audi, Toyota, Volvo and the Car-to-Car communication consortium. V2V is also known as VANETs (vehicular ad hoc networks). It is a variation of MANETs (mobile ad hoc networks), with the emphasis being now the node is the vehicular. In 2001, it was mentioned in a publication that ad hoc networks can be formed by cars and such networks can help overcome blind spots, avoid accidents, etc.