Ever wished you could telepathically send your angry thoughts over to the driver who just cut into your lane suddenly without any warning? Unless you decide to get into a fit of road rage and throw caution to the wind, the best remedy would be to calm down and wish the other party well – who knows, he/she might be in a hurry, but either way, it would be good for your overall well being not to get too upset. Well, all that might change in the future as cars down the road might be able to “talk” to each other – as early as 2014 in fact, while alerting other cars who share the road concerning traffic, accidents that just happened or even the fact that there is an ambulance on the way.
NXP, a semiconductor company, wants to see that vision realized by working with Cohda Wireless of Australia, calling it the C2X platform. Currently undergoing field trials, it intends to create a huge car-to-car network and car-to-infrastructure network for information to be passed around quickly. Conspiracy theorists might say that this is one more way for Big Brother to keep tabs on you – what do you think?
C2X communication relies on the IEEE802.11p wireless standard that was specially designed for automotive applications to communicate with each other (car-to-car) in addition to intelligent traffic infrastructure (car-to-infrastructure). It is also smart enough to be aware of corners, recognizing traffic blocks or risks before your eyes ever see them. Early warning systems? We’re all for it if it makes our roads safer.
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