Technology aims to offer safe, interoperable networked wireless communications among vehicles, roadways

Jan. 1, 2020
An "I'm here" type of signal will be broadcast from the car and serve as a warning to cross traffic and vehicles in a driver's blind spot, letting them know that another vehicle is there and warning the vehicles to take evasive action.
Greg Horn ABRN auto body repair collision repair Intellidrive V2V vehicle to vehicle

I was looking at a GM promotional Parade of Progress film from the 1950s and chuckled at a segment where GM predicted "cars that drive themselves."

It explained a high-tech cruise control would follow a rail signal embedded in the road, allowing the driver to swivel around and interact with his family as the highway miles ticked away with the car adjusting to traffic and guiding the family safely to its pre-programmed destination.

Some 60 years later this concept is closer to fruition through technology advancements like GM's OnStar and Volvo's City Safety automatic braking system that can avoid accidents. These two systems helped form the basis of an initiative that few in the collision industry have ever heard of – Intellidrive.

Intellidrive is a multipart initiative that aims to enable safe, interoperable networked wireless communications among vehicles, the city and state road infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is heading this program, now being examined by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).

DOT started the initiative in the mid-1990s when its Information Technology System (ITS) program focused on adapting emerging technology like night vision or other defense systems to suit the needs of the automobile and commercial truck transportation community.

In the early 2000s DOT realized that advancements in computer communications technology like automated communication between vehicles (Vehicle to Vehicle or V2V) and between vehicles and the roadway (Vehicle to Infrastructure or V2I) held tremendous potential to address highway safety issues and accident avoidance.

Building from earlier ITS research, DOT launched the Vehicle-Infrastructure-Integration (VII) Program in 2003. VII's vision was to use wireless communication with and between vehicles to achieve dramatic safety and mobility improvements.

DOT announced Intellidrive in 2010. Some of DOT's relatives like USDOT are sponsoring Intellidrive research to leverage the potentially transformative capabilities of wireless technology to make surface transportation safer and smarter with each phase.

As with all new technologies, there is a learning curve. What DOT didn't think of was the explosion in the number of aftermarket GPS devices that are available today for a few hundred dollars. This advancement drastically reduces the time to market, at least for phase one.

Phase one will be fairly rudimentary. Like over-the-counter GPS systems, an "I'm here" type of signal will broadcast from the car and serve as a warning to cross traffic and vehicles in a driver's blind spot, letting them know that another vehicle is there and warning the vehicles to take evasive action. It can also warn of emergency vehicles.

Like all technology, subsequent phases add some incredible advances. The final vision will link the vehicle's advanced computer communication and GPS systems to the highway and city infrastructure. This will allow auto braking for stop signs and stop lights when the vehicle senses a driver is not slowing soon enough. It also will provide automatic turn-by-turn re-routing to avoid traffic jams and give drivers the optimal time and route to travel to reduce travel time and fuel consumption.

Before you predict the end of collision repair, remember that there is one piece of technology that has not changed: the driver. Human error is the cause of most accidents today and in large part because drivers ignore warnings.

Many of the warnings supplied by this technology can be ignored, and likely will be. Case in point, remember when the rear window mounted third brake light was first made mandatory in cars in 1986? Rear-end accident rates declined initially but then rose steadily to pre-1986 levels as drivers grew accustomed to the warning and began ignoring it. So will computers be the end of our livelihood? Not if past practices indicate future performance.

Contact info: [email protected]

Sponsored Recommendations

Best Body Shop and the 360-Degree-Concept

Spanesi ‘360-Degree-Concept’ Enables Kansas Body Shop to Complete High-Quality Repairs

How Fender Bender Operator of the Year, Morrow Collision Center, Achieves Their Spot-On Measurements

Learn how Fender Bender Operator of the Year, Morrison Collision Center, equipped their new collision facility with “sleek and modern” equipment and tools from Spanesi Americas...

ADAS Applications: What They Are & What They Do

Learn how ADAS utilizes sensors such as radar, sonar, lidar and cameras to perceive the world around the vehicle, and either provide critical information to the driver or take...

Coach Works implements the Spanesi Touch system

Coach Works Uses Spanesi Equipment to Ensure a Safe and Proper Repair for Customers