Car to X field trial in Germany with 120 vehicles

After several years of intensive preparation, Sim TD project enters in a test phase in the greater Frankfurt am Main area with a fleet of 120 vehicles from German car makers. The field test will last until the end of the year and include various studies on car-to-car technology and its impact on increasing traffic safety and efficiency. Around 450 test drivers will take part.
Each car has a network link to the others, as well as to the traffic infrastructure, and they will keep each other updated about the current traffic situation.


Technologies being tested as part of the simTD research project include:
- Electronic Brake Light, which delivers a message from the lead vehicle to a following vehicle if an emergency braking procedure is carried out, even if the incident occurs out-of-sight, for example around a bend in the road
- Obstacle Warning system, which enables a vehicle to inform other road users of the presence, position and type of potentially hazardous obstacles on the road
- Traffic Sign Assistant, which remains in continuous contact with traffic management centres to access up-to-date information on variable speed limits, temporary restrictions and diversions; as well as providing details of current and approaching permanent regulations, such as fixed speed limits and right of way
- Public Traffic Management, which provides exact traffic prognosis based on comprehensive information; this includes identifying likely traffic scenarios and their impact at the point in the journey when they are encountered rather than at the point of departure
- In-car Internet Access, which, for example, can enable the driver to reserve and pay for parking en-route.
 
The consortium involves representatives from all major interest groups, including Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Opel, Volkswagen, Bosch, Continental, Deutsche Telekom, regional infrastructure operators and German Research Institutions (Technische Universität München und Berlin, Universität Würzburg, Fraunhofer).