HOUSTON, TX – On public roads, Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology has been used to request a green light for passenger vehicles. The application was developed by Applied Information, a company which develops technology for connected infrastructure, allowing vehicles and traffic lights to communicate, for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and demonstrated using the TravelSafely smartphone app, an Audi e-tron Sportback equipped with C-V2X Direct, and a cellular network-connected RAM pickup truck using HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud technology. HAAS Alert provides a platform for data exchange between vehicles and traffic lights (like Safety Cloud).
The “detector call” application is designed to improve safety by eliminating unnecessary stops at cross streets at night and to reduce the cost of installing and maintaining advanced vehicle detection equipment such as radar, cameras and loops embedded in the pavement.
The application imitates a standard request for a green light from approaching vehicles, altering the signal upon vehicle arrival. Eliminating unnecessary stops also reduces idle time which provides an environmental benefit. Moreover, the application is non-disruptive and maintains the signal’s normal timing routine.
“This is a revolutionary change for the detection system from passive to proactive,” said Steve Chiu, Project Coordinator, TxDOT Houston. “Also, from a maintenance and efficiency perspective, which is important to the maintaining agency, C-V2X provides a high-level of reliability.”
“Enabling passenger vehicles to communicate with traffic signals is a significant leap forward in safety and efficiency. This innovation is available today and can also be deployed at scale using existing technology on smartphones, in vehicles, and at traffic signals,” said Bryan Mulligan, President of Applied Information. “Texas DOT is leading the nation in developing and deploying innovative technology. Moreover, this is aimed at improving safety, saving tax dollars, and improving the environment.”
“Smoothing traffic flow, curtailing emissions and improving road safety are central to the promise of connected mobility,” said Brad Stertz, Director, Government Affairs at Audi of America, Inc. “Our vision of the future is driven by the possibility of quick wins through seamless communication between vehicles and infrastructure.”
HAAS Alert’s Senior Vice President of Connected Vehicles, Jeremy Agulnek, says this project demonstrates how connected vehicle technology already deployed today can be cost-effectively leveraged to deliver multiple benefits. “There are 80 million passenger cars connected to ‘the cloud’ today. In the cloud, vehicle data enable cost-effective innovations benefiting drivers, public agencies, and communities, fostering diverse impactful use cases.”
The technology enabling the passenger vehicles to communicate with the signals and call for the green light using C-V2X was developed by Applied Information. TravelSafely smartphone app also utilizes this technology. The Audi e-tron was equipped with a C-V2X Direct on-board unit which was programmed to ask for the green light. Moreover, the pickup truck used its integrated cellular network modem to communicate with HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud platform. This platform then delivered the location data to Applied Information’s cloud platform to ask for the green light. The TravelSafely app is available for iPhone and Android smartphones.
The technology was demonstrated at the TxDOT Connected Vehicle Innovation Summit in Houston. Paradigm Traffic Systems was the system integrator.
