Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Communications for Safety

Research Plan

The objective of the V2V safety research program is four-fold:

• Develop V2V active safety applications that address the most critical crash scenario;
• Develop a rigorous estimation of safety benefits that will contribute to the assessment of a 2013 NHTSA agency decision;
• Work with industry  to enable market  factors that will accelerate safety benefits  through both in-vehicle technologies and through the use of aftermarket and/or retrofit options  to ensure that the first V2V-equipped vehicle  owners find value in their investment; and
• Building from the results of earlier proof-of-concept tests, complete the development and testing of the V2V communications technologies and standards.

Success will be measured by progress on the following:

• Development of practical, DSRC-based, V2V active safety applications and supporting equipment and demonstration of their effectiveness;
• Completion of the DSRC standards and other standards that are needed for deployment of V2V, and development of solutions to security, scalability, positioning, and other technical issues.
• Develop guidance for the driver-vehicle interface (DVI) to optimize effective warnings, while minimizing distraction and driver workload.
• Acceleration of technology implementation into vehicles for generating the basic safety messages (BSMs); and
• Definition of security network requirements for V2V and its supporting systems (such as certification, security, or access procedures).

Research Tracks

The ITS Program has defined a collaborative research process that will engage the appropriate parties to address the breadth of technical and non-technical V2V research needs:

• Track 1: Identify critical crash scenarios for V2V and develop benchmarks for safety application function, performance, and effectiveness.
• Track 2: Ensure interoperability and determine supporting network security and/or infrastructure needs for V2V deployment. Safety applications must work on all types of equipped vehicles and adhere to communication standards to ensure security and message integrity.
• Track 3: Develop rigorous estimates of safety benefits.  The development of performance measures, objective test procedures, and an adaptation of Advanced Crash Avoidance Technologies (ACAT) will assist in validating safety benefits.
• Track 4: Develop prototype active safety applications that include control features and crash avoidance applications that address forward crashes and intersection crashes, and evaluate through objective tests.  The evaluation process provides data for safety benefits calculations.
• Track 5: Develop guidelines for effective Driver Vehicle Interfaces (DVIs). Collision warning system effectiveness relies on the quality of its interface, which can affect the driver’s performance.
• Track 6: Investigate policy issues and formulate regulatory decisions within the context of the broader program.
• Track 7: Develop and evaluate V2V safety applications that incorporate the unique needs and vehicle dynamics of commercial vehicles, large trucks, and motor coaches. NHTSA estimates V2V applications can address 71 percent of all heavy truck crashes involving unimpaired drivers.
• Track 8: Develop transit safety applications utilizing results from automobile safety applications and transitioning their applicability to transit vehicles.

The results achieved through the V2V safety research program will be indicators of an environment in which V2V can flourish. The Department and its modal partners will engage the automotive, truck, and bus manufacturers and suppliers, along with other partner groups, through working group participation. In addition, the Department will work with stakeholder groups to define effective technology transfer opportunities. Ultimately, this research will support a decision by NHTSA in 2013 for light vehicles and 2014 for heavy vehicles on whether a regulatory decision for deployment is warranted.

Research Goals:

• Employ advanced V2V wireless technologies to reduce, mitigate, or address approximately 80 percent of light vehicle crash scenarios involving unimpaired drivers.
• Establish robust DSRC standards for safety-critical applications.
• Accelerate in-vehicle technology to ensure value to the first V2V vehicles.

Research Outcomes:

• The planned outcomes of this research are to document and validate the potential benefits of V2V technologies and to develop the factual evidence needed to support a 2013 NHTSA agency decision.
• Potential V2V safety applications include safety warnings for drivers, such as:
  • Emergency electronic brake lights warning
  • Forward  collision warning
  • Intersection movement assist warning
  • Blind spot warning
  • Lane change warning
  • Do not pass warning
  • Control Loss Warning
  • Bus Driver Warning – vehicle making a right turn in front of a bus