Audi recently held demonstrations of Connected Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) technology in Oceanside, California. The demonstrations showcased a variety of C-V2X use cases which offer the potential to reduce the likelihood of collisions between vehicles and cyclists.

C-V2X is the use of cellular communications technology between a vehicle and its surroundings including road users, traffic features, or other vehicles. It can include traffic lights, crosswalks, road signs, school buses, construction workers and more. With this technology, the display in the cockpit of an Audi vehicle can inform drivers when they need to become aware of a particular situation, and adapt their driving accordingly.

This technology can enable drivers to recognize dangerous situations much sooner than if they were driving without these prompts. Audi demonstrated use cases aimed to benefit both drivers and road cyclists, including:

• Proximity Warning / Front & Rear Collision Warning. When a vehicle and cyclist come closer to one another, a notification appears showing where a possible collision may occur.

  
  

• Cross Traffic Alert. Vehicle detects if a bicycle is on a possible collision path when approaching from the left or right up ahead.

• Parallel Parking Departure Alert. When pulling out of its curbside spot, a parallel parked vehicle detects if a bicycle is approaching from behind.

• Right Turn Assist (“Right Hook”). Driver gives turn signal indication to turn right while cyclist drives straight through.

  
  

• Left Turn Assist (“Left Cross”). Vehicle gives left turn indication and receives notification if a cyclist is approaching from opposite direction and potentially entering the turn of vehicle.

These demonstrated use cases indicate that C-V2X has the potential to increase awareness among vehicles and permit more cooperative driving between cyclists and vehicles.

In March of 2022, Audi of America announced it was collaborating with Spoke, a mobility platform for safety, connectivity, and enriched rider experiences, along with other partners, to explore technical solutions for C-V2X with connected car-to-bicycle technologies. (Earlier post.) This collaboration aims to bring technology to consumers in order to ultimately help reduce roadway accidents and fatalities involving vehicles and bicycles.

The CDC estimates that there are nearly 1,000 cyclist fatalities, and another 130,000 cyclist injuries that occur on roads in the United States every year. Bicyclist fatalities are on an upward trend, with an uptick of 5% from 2020 to 2021, totaling 985 fatalities. Audi believes C-V2X connected mobility is the gateway to significant improvements and the time is now to allow rapid deployment of C-V2X technology for roadway safety.

Audi earlier this year joined several other automakers, tech innovators, traffic equipment manufacturers, states and localities in seeking a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) waiver to put C-V2X on American roads immediately. The public comments on this request were overwhelmingly positive, and Audi calls on the FCC to grant the waivers. Audi and others await final FCC rulemaking that will ensure the transportation wireless spectrum remains viable for direct and urgent V2X communications.