Ford Motor Company is involved with a number of partners to develop future technologies and enhance the safety of the driving experience.
For example, in 1995, Ford and GM launched the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP). Within CAMP, the Vehicle Safety Communications Two (VSC-2) Consortium, which includes Ford, General Motors, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler and Honda, is working with the U.S. Department of Transportation on two major projects to develop safety applications that utilize vehicle communications. Their efforts are focused on developing a communication system whereby vehicles can "talk" to each other and to the roadway. This would be analogous to wireless internet or cellular telephone for cars. CAMP VSC-2 successfully completed a project that demonstrated the basic feasibility of this technology, and they will be evaluating the following applications in a follow-on project:
- Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System: Violation Warning
As a vehicle approaches a traffic light, it would receive a message from the traffic light with the signal phase (red, yellow or green) and the amount of time until the signal changes. The vehicle would use this information, together with the vehicle position and speed, to decide if a warning or some other countermeasure (such as brake assist) is appropriate.
- Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications for Safety Applications, such as Electronic Emergency Brake Lights (EEBL)
The vehicle manufacturers in the VSC-2 are working together and with NHTSA to investigate the messages needed for a host of vehicle-to-vehicle safety applications, including EEBL. For example, when a driver applies the brakes, the brake lights are illuminated, but there is currently no way to distinguish hard braking from light or moderate braking. Further, often only the vehicle directly behind the braking vehicle is able to see the brake lights. If a vehicle performing hard braking could send a message to other vehicles, then those vehicles could warn their drivers, activate brake assist or even start automatic braking.
Ford is also participating in a Vehicle Infrastructure Integration National Coalition (VIINC) to assess the feasibility of deploying wireless technologies to support the above safety applications as well as mobility and commercial applications (e.g., e-payment for parking, tolling and gasoline purchases). Under a $56 million cooperative agreement, the U.S. Department of Transportation and eight OEMs are evaluating the framework for a national strategy to implement vehicle-to-roadway and vehicle-to-vehicle communications to support safety, commercial and consumer services. In this partnership, the government would fund the roadside infrastructure and the OEMs would provide the wireless on-board equipment. A special Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) radio is being developed for this purpose, and the Federal Communications Commission has allocated bandwidth for its operation. The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed installing 250,000 DSRC roadside transceivers nationwide by 2010 to support the deployment of vehicle transceivers by OEMs. Projects are underway to demonstrate technical feasibility in 2007.
In addition, Ford is a board member of the ComCARE Alliance, a nonprofit organization that encourages the establishment of wireless communication networks, infrastructure and technologies that enable emergency communications between the motoring public and public safety agencies. This alliance is a coalition of the medical community; public health and safety officials; automobile, telematics and technology companies; safety groups; and others.
In Europe, Ford has been a leading contributor to the EU's "RESPONSE" project. RESPONSE is developing a code of practice aimed at ensuring that new Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems technologies are designed to be safe, considering the complex interaction of drivers and vehicle systems in multiple traffic situations.
