Taking Safety Hi-Tech

It wasn't long ago when the auto industry was proposing a number of gee-whiz, space-aged ideas to promote safer driving, including smart cars and smart highways.

Now, Chrysler Group thinks it has an even smarter and more cost-effective idea that will make tomorrow's vehicles and roads truly safer.

The auto maker is working with a variety of government agencies across the U.S. to deploy Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) systems in vehicles and along the nation's highways.

DSRC uses wireless fidelity (WiFi) high-frequency wireless local area network technology to conduct communication between the vehicle and the road, as well as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-stationary locations.

All it takes is a small handheld unit — roughly the size of a cell phone — that deploys and receives signals on the WiFi network. Those signals are used to improve traffic flow by alerting drivers to oncoming road congestion, construction zones and weather patterns. Chrysler expects the handheld units to cost less than $10 within the next few years.

The transponders would communicate with other roadside transponders to help identify the exact location of potential traffic problems and reduce commute times, while improving fuel efficiency in urban areas.

The DSRC system also can work with the vehicle's adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and other accident-avoidance systems to assist the driver if a collision is imminent.

“With DSRC we think we've found another opportunity to demonstrate our unique capability to bring practical innovation to market to benefit our customers,” Eric Ridenour, head of Chrysler Group product development, says at DaimlerChrysler AG's annual innovation symposium in Sindelfingen, Germany.

“Research on DSRC may provide a quantum breakthrough in car and road communications. DSRC, in effect, creates smart roads; smart roads create smart drivers, and smart drivers contribute to safer travel conditions for everyone.”

Ridenour points out the U.S. Federal Communications Commission already allotted a portion of the airwaves to support the communication systems to be used in DSRC. The 5.9 GHz band dedicated communication systems currently are under development in the U.S.

A key partner in the further advent of these systems will be the government itself. Ridenour says effective use of the system will require local road commissions and other government agencies to install roadside systems that will communicate with vehicles during travel.

DC is working with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials and other vehicle manufacturers to determine the viability of nation-wide system deployment. It is unclear how government agencies will fund the deployment, as many currently are operating under tight budget restrictions.

“We very much see the infrastructure side being funded by the government,” he says. “That's one of the requirements going in.”

Ridenour says the prospects for government cooperation are good, although hurdles do exist.

There also are a number of commercial applications that could be conducted through the DSRC system.

It would be possible to communicate point-of-interest information directly to the vehicle if desired. Digital map updates also could be provided directly to the vehicle's GPS system.

Drivers would even be able to purchase and download music, as well as obtain direct vehicle diagnostic information, which could be transmitted to a local dealer.

Ridenour admits there are some privacy concerns about transmission of data over the WiFi system, but he promises DSRC will not be deployed until all of the issues are resolved.

So exactly when will DSRC be a reality? Ridenour says the current timetable calls for deployment at the end of 2007 or early 2008, depending on whether all parties get on board.