Connected Vehicles Technology
Intelligent Vehicle Systems
Contact Information
Ryan D. Lamm
Assistant Director
Intelligent Vehicle Systems & Networks
+1 (210) 522-5350
rlamm@swri.org
SwRI VII test vehicle
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) established the Connected Vehicle Program to improve safety and mobility on the nation's roadways by supporting efforts to integrate standardized traffic management communication infrastructure with vehicle systems.
In 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated spectrum for Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) radio service 5.9 GHz band. The 5.9 GHz DSRC radio system features a range of between 300 and 1,000 meters with the following characteristics:
- Low-latency transmission
- Fast network acquisition
- High link reliability
- Ability to prioritize the transmission of specific, safety-related data
Since the spectrum was established, ITS organizations including Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have been developing standards, prototype devices, applications, and networks to demonstrate how DSRC would operate in typical vehicular environments.
Connected Vehicles Applications
More than 100 potential applications of this technology have been envisioned, including:
- Advanced vehicle-to-vehicle emergency braking notification
- Signal violation warnings
- Roadway condition reporting
- Vehicle probe data
- Electronic payment for open-road tolling
- Emergency vehicle alerts
- Support for in-vehicle signage
Support for DSRC Device Certification Program
The communications devices are critical to the Connected Vehicles Program's success, and SwRI was selected by the OmniAir Consortium Inc. to develop the 5.9-GHz DSRC standards conformance test methods for the OmniAir DSRC certification program. OmniAir, a nonprofit public-private consortium, is under a five-year cooperative agreement with the USDOT to develop a certification program deemed essential to the forward progress of the program.
The SwRI team is developing the standards conformance test methods focused on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) P1609.2-4 DSRC standards.
Connected Vehicles Technology Related Internal Research and Development
SwRI also is internally funding connected vehicles technology research, exploring how vehicles and roadside units will communicate, what data will be important, and how traffic management centers, automobile manufacturers, and the public will use the data.
- Integrating dynamic vehicle probe data into an advanced traffic management system
- Maintaining device anonymity while disseminating information in a 3D plane
- Development of a heavy-duty probe data system
Related Terminology
Connected Vehicles Technology • intelligent transportation systems • ITS • automation and data systems • Federal Highway Administration • vehicle infrastructure integration initiative • traffic management communication infrastructure
