Ford, Vodafone Test V2X Tech
Ford Motor Co. and Vodafone Group plc are testing connected vehicle technology to alert drivers of a nearby accident and approaching emergency vehicles.
Ford Motor Co. and Vodafone Group plc are testing connected vehicle technologies to alert drivers of a nearby accident and approaching emergency vehicles.
The program is part of the €15 million ($18 million) KoMoD (Kooperative Mobilitat im digitalen Testfield Dusseldorf) initiative to test connected and automated driving systems.
The new system builds on Ford’s eCall feature that can automatically summon emergency service providers when a car is involved in an accident. Under “eCall Plus,” a vehicle involved in an accident also could notify vehicles within a 1,600-ft range of the situation.
Emergency vehicles also could issue an alert and tap into in-vehicle displays to tell motorists where to move aside to minimize obstructions. This would help create an “emergency corridor” for ambulances, fire trucks and police cars to travel through, the partners note.
Ford says it also is using KoMoD to test vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies. This includes real-time traffic light assistance and tunnel information systems.
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