Volkswagen recently released Golf of the 8th generation. The European car model is equipped with V2X, the technology that can prevent accidents by having cars communicate with each other, without the support of cellular infrastructure. The car uses NXP Semiconductors’ RoadLINK V2X communication solution.
NXP and Volkswagen have closely collaborated to ensure reliability and performance, as well as for standardization of V2X communication that claims to addresses cybersecurity and privacy protection.
Wi-Fi forms the basis of the European standard that has been chosen for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. It is available independent of paid cellular services. Presently, 1000 km of European roads are equipped with V2X technology based on Wi-Fi with 5000 km planned through the end of 2019.
Its research and development, testing and standardization has occurred within a strong global eco-system of suppliers and car manufacturers to ensure reliability in diverse road and traffic conditions. Some of its features are:
• It enables awareness and communication between cars, road infrastructure like traffic lights or street signs, and other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.
• It is a technology that is collaborative, allowing it to “tap into” surrounding sensor data from mutually equipped cars to warn of hazards and prevent accidents.
• V2X is a technology that complements other ADAS sensing technologies such as radar, LiDAR and cameras.
• It helps vehicles to “see” more than a mile ahead and around corners to provide early warning of obstacles, hazards, and road conditions.
• It has the ability to “see” through objects, delivering more information than that obtained through line of sight only.
• Its sensing capabilities are unaffected by poor weather conditions.
This is expected to be the largest deployment of this technology in the world as Golf enjoys sales of more than half a million across Europe every year. Earlier Toyota and Cadillac have also introduced this technology in different markets but none of those matched the scale at which Volkswagen is deploying it.
Source: Press Release
