Posts Tagged ‘V2X’

The Use of Cellular Wireless Communications in Support of Dedicated Short Range Communications for the Connected Vehicle

Posted: February 13, 2013 in Communications, Connected Vehicle, Federal, Vehicle Technology
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I originally investigated the potential synergies and resultant barriers and challenges for integrating public/commercial grade wireless communications in support of the “Connected Vehicle”, back in 2007. (then known as “Intellidrive”)  A brief summary of the initial findings and a proposed architecture was presented in a blog post in August, 2011.  Since the initial posting, the Connected Vehicle ecosystem has started to take shape and is gaining significant momentum on multiple fronts, including amongst the automotive and telecommunications industries, as well as the Federal Government.  As a result,  I thought it might be of some value to revisit and update the hybrid communications framework originally proposed for the Connected Vehicle.

DSRC-Cell_DiagramCurrent Values

The primary attractiveness of commercial cellular continues to be maturity of technology and network coverage, including for most major urban areas, suburban areas and even significant coverage of rural areas.  Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) is currently limited to approximately 1200 feet, line of sight, and will require significant investment in new infrastructure. Commercial wireless and Wi-Fi technologies continue to show promise for providing secondary, tier-two services associated with the Connected Vehicle.

Current Barriers and Limitations

Substantial limitations still remain. The prevailing barrier is communications latency with regards to minimum requirements associated with V2V and V2I. In addition, commercial cellular networks remain vulnerable to network congestion issues (peak periods), including denial of service and dropped calls.    Also, cost remains a significant hinderance, as the Federal Government has taken the stance that automotive safety should be free to the end-user.

Additional Resources

 The Battle Between Cellular and DSRC – Panel Discussion from Telematics Update

http://uk.telematicsupdate.com/fc_tele_evupdatelz/lz.aspx?p1=05119912S3022&CC=&p=1&cID=0&cValue=1

Hybrid Communications Network for the Connected Vehicle

http://terranautix.com/2011/08/14/hybrid-communications-network-for-the-connected-vehicle/

Connected Vehicle Insights – Fourth Generation Wireless – Vehicle and - Highway Gateways to the Cloud

http://www.its.dot.gov/research/pdf/Tech%20Scan%204G%20Wireless%20(final)%20.pdf

Transportation and the City as a Platform

Posted: July 2, 2011 in Uncategorized
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The recent proliferation of new data sources generated by the emergence of new sensor and detection technologies such as smart phones, RFID tags, GPS-devices, accelerometers, digital compasses, etc., is opening the door to an exciting new era for the transportation community. Data, after all, is the oxygen and life-source for most of our transportation management systems.  The term “pending data deluge” may at first appear to be a bit dramatic, but from many perspectives, the term represents an accurate depiction and characterization of our rapidly changing industry.

Much has been made of the new Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) information models, but little has been noted regarding the wide array of associated connections also envisioned for the new connected transportation environment.  The most notable new connectivity models associated with transportation include Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P), Pedestrian-to-Pedestrian (P2P), Pedestrian-to-Infrastructure (P2I) and Infrastructure-to-Infrastructure (I2I), all generating new, valuable real-time data streams integral to the success of the next generation of technologies and methodologies dedicated to the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services within the urban environment.  In addition, connecting all of these real-time information nodes to a central resource (Cloud) or X2C, will provide a central data warehouse and platform for the development of a vast array of new tools and services.

So how is the transportation industry preparing to deal with the data-wave just now beginning to materialize before our very eyes?  Will these new connectivity models reside in dedicated silos separated by technology motes and fences, or will the transportation community implement a new architecture that will realize the value of integrating these data resources?.  Our ability to realize the full potential of these new data sets will hinge significantly on our ability to optimize the systems that generate, transmit, collect, aggregate, process, store and manage the data in its entirety, all with an overarching perspective.

The City as a Platform is a new term that represents a significant shift in information management philosophy.  The City will provide the backbone and central nervous system for successfully integrating all of these new data nodes.  The City or the urban environment will be central to the efficient management of all of these new data sources, the connectivity between nodes and the ultimate ability to realize values attainable in these new data resources.  The City Platform is the obvious choice for implementing an open architecture, set policies and govern overarching standards as well as provide the necessary infrastructure required for delivering a unified system.

 

PSFK CONFERENCE NYC 2011: Rachel Sterne from Piers Fawkes on Vimeo.

Further Reading:
Your City as a Platform for Entrepreneurship
http://www.businessinsider.com/your-city-as-a-platform-for-entrepreneurship-2011-8