Nissan, Savari, UC Berkeley and City of Sunnyvale collaborate on real-world V2X testbed with DSRC
29 March 2016
Nissan Motor Company, Savari, UC Berkeley Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology (PATH), and the City of Sunnyvale have collaborated on a real-world V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) testbed spanning 4.63 square miles with three public intersections in Sunnyvale, California. The City of Sunnyvale pilot is examining the role of V2X communications and its potential benefits on easing traffic congestion, and enhancing fuel economy and public safety.
Savari is a provider of V2X safety communication technology; its smart city deployments now span 130 square miles of public roadways. Prompted by Nissan’s vision initiative to establish a V2X testbed, PATH deployed Savari StreetWAVE road-side-units (RSUs) and coordinated with the City of Sunnyvale and Nissan on the project, which started in August 2015 and is continuing to provide data.
This V2X testbed demonstrates how data can be reliably exchanged between moving vehicles and fixed wireless infrastructure using the DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communications)—5.8 GHz band.
The data that’s collected is analyzed for improving real-time traffic flow to planning transportation infrastructure investments. Furthermore, as Nissan continues to advance technologies for autonomous driving systems, the availability of V2X communication can further enhance the capabilities of autonomous cars.
Sunnyvale’s Transportation Division is leveraging the data to enhance the operation of current traffic light intersections and readying them for fully autonomous vehicles. V2X technology integrates with the city’s traffic controllers, exchanging data between vehicles and traffic signals and between traffic signals and vehicles using radio sensors.
Nissan participated in the project with interest in further evaluating DSRC technology—a medium-range wireless communication channel dedicated to cars to provide communications from vehicle to another vehicle or to roadside infrastructure—as a potential V2X system that can be deployed today.
With many communities experiencing rapidly growing demands on their transportation infrastructure in the next few decades, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently launched its Smart City Challenge. (Earlier post.)
The USDOT’s Smart City Challenge is a nationwide competition designed to address these challenges by taking a look at how new technologies can better connect transportation assets into an interactive network. 78 medium-sized cities submitted a proposal before the 4 Feb. deadline with the hope of winning the $50-million grand prize and the opportunity to deploy new safety and emissions technologies in their city.
The US Government also recently laid out its vision for building a 21st century transportation system that includes a 10-year, nearly $4 billion investment to accelerate the development and adoption of safe vehicle automation through real-world projects.
Savari is a leading provider of V2X communications technology with 90% of installed road-side-units (RSU) and 50% of on-board-units (OBU) in six major public testbeds across the U.S. The company’s V2X testbed milestones include:
- More than 14.9 million miles of public OBU testing
- 391 thousand hours of public OBU testing
- 130 square miles of public road covered by RSUs
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