CVIS demonstration

On May12th CVIS, European flagship project for Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems, organized the first on-road demonstrations of core technologies and applications developed for Europe’s universal platform for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication and services.

Connected vehicles and infrastructure can produce and share real-time traffic and environment information, which, when processed and delivered to drivers, will improve mobility efficiency, lead to fewer traffic accidents and reduce road congestion, fuel consumption, CO² emissions and driver frustration.

The CVIS technologies and applications developed over the last years are now moving out of the laboratory and onto the road. At its first European test site to go live, CVIS is showing real-life applications using 5.9 GHz wireless LAN and cellular 3G communication media.

Demonstrations:

The first demonstration shows how specific types of vehicles such as emergency vehicles, public transport vehicles or trucks with dangerous goods can actively communicate with roadside equipment such as traffic lights. An emergency vehicle informs a traffic light of its approach, is identified and is given green priority, while other road users are warned against potential collisions.

A second application demonstrates how drivers receive recommendations on the best route to their destination as well as predicted travel time for alternative routes. The journey time estimation takes into consideration the detailed traffic signal plan rather than average traffic flows. Vehicle-infrastructure communication also allows traffic signals to be synchronised with vehicles, sending to drivers a recommended speed to pass through the next traffic lights during the green phase, leading to significant fuel savings.

Also demonstrated is a safety application where a vehicle broadcasts a hazard warning when its driver is detected to enter a one-way road in the wrong direction. Roadside and on-board equipment will immediately inform all vehicles in the vicinity, while the traffic centre will send radio warnings and use variable message signs to warn vehicles of the approaching “ghost-driver”.

CVIS also includes a number of innovative cooperative applications for commercial freight and fleet vehicles. In this demonstration a fleet operator or goods delivery vehicle can request a reservation of a parking space (e.g. at a motorway service area) or a roadside delivery location and time slot. A central booking system processes the reservation and sends a confirmation to the vehicle. If needed, due to e.g. traffic delays, the vehicle will update the centre of its progress and will receive an updated booking.

In the city, truck drivers need to be informed when approaching a zone where access is restricted (e.g. truck-free zone, weight limit, time-specific access bans…). A CVIS application provides appropriate driving recommendations to the driver when approaching the area and allows the vehicle to negotiate favourable treatment through the traffic control system in return for making the journey at the optimum time for the road network operator.