Researchers Are Developing Ad Hoc Networks For Car-To-Car Data Exchange

Lucas123 writes "Researchers are developing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication technology that allows cars to exchange data with each other, enabling vehicles to know what the cars all around them are doing, and perhaps, where they're going. Intel is working with National Taiwan University on M2M connectivity, an idea came from caravanning — an available, but-not-yet-deployed technology that uses direct line of site infrared (IR) and a range finder in order to automatically adjust the speed of cars so they can travel at a measured distance from each other. In other words, they're electronically tethered to one another. Now, imagine a group of cars traveling down the road together as an ad hoc network, each one aware of the location, any sudden actions or even the travel route of other vehicles as uploaded to the cloud from a GPS device. 'We're even imagining in the future cars would be able to ask other cars, "Hey, can I cut into your lane?" Then the other car would let you in,' said Jennifer Healey, a research scientist with Intel."

Comments

They have that already

[Gothmolly]

It's called a "train".

Re:They have that already

[dkleinsc]

I was thinking more of a different car-to-car data exchange mechanism, namely the extended middle finger.

Hacking potential

[AmiMoJo]

I imagine mod chips that block other cars from your lane will appear quickly enough, but the potential for carnage if one were programmed to give other cars information designed to mislead them into danger can't be ignored. How would one car authenticate what another is saying?

It is called DSRC and it is nothing new

[Bluefirebird]

This is old news!
The Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) is a set of protocols and standards for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communications.
The lower layers in the protocol stack are defined by the 802.11p standard, which is a modified version for the 802.11a for vehicular environments and it operates in the 5.9 GHz band.
The higher layers are defined by the Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) stack, for messaging and control, and the IPv6 stack for applications and services.


There are already commercial DSRC radios and lots applications have been developed in the ITS research community. For instance, the See-Through System: an overtaking assistance system http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esh1EjgBQaI

Why?

[tech.kyle]

Because cars should have twitter too.

Car1: Sitting at a red light. So bored!
Car2: @Car1 LOL floored it on the yellow and made it through.
Car1: @Car2 At the next red light with you. Wanna race?
Car3: @Car1 @Car2 Police ahead, don't do it.
TotallyNotPolice: @Car1 @Car2 Ignore him. No police. You should race.

Sample data exchange

[RevWaldo]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<M2M>
<vehicle>
<ssid>rubber_duck</ssid>
<haul>timber</price>
<destination>Tulsa Town</destination>
<kph>160</kph>
<mode>convoy</mode>
<memo>we got a great big convoy</memo>
</vehicle>
<vehicle>
<ssid>big_ben</ssid>
<haul>hogs</price>
<destination>Tulsa Town</destination>
<kph>160</kph>
<mode>convoy</mode>
<memo>ain\'t she a beautiful sight?</memo>
</vehicle>
</M2M>