The City of Sunnyvale is now connecting cars to the city as a V2X test bed to connect data to lights and the city for safety, traffic management and maybe self-driving cars in the future.
V2I communication is part of a full suite of V2X solutions including V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), V2P (Vehicle-to-Phone), and V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure).
Nissan, Savari UC Berkeley Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology (PATH), worked together for the deployment that spans 130 public square miles of roadways.
The project started by Nissan’s vision initiative to establish a V2X test bed, PATH deployed Savari StreetWAVE road-side-units (RSUs) and coordinated with the City of Sunnyvale staring in August 2015 and continues to provide data.
The V2X systems use DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communications) – 5.8 GHz band. Data is analyzed for improving real-time traffic flow to planning transportation infrastructure investments. In the future V2X communication can further enhance the capabilities of autonomous cars.
In the Nissan car – either in the cars infotainment system or on any other display (e.g. Smartphone) – Savari is able to display any kind of V2X application.In Sunnyvale, V2I (Vehicle-to-infrastructure) communication applications, are shown, including SPaT (Signal Phase and Timing). Other V2I applications are Work Zone Warning and Curve Speed Warning.This leads to increased safety at intersections and makes future automation of cities possible.
The Savari software stack is radio agnostic and runs on any platform NXP, Qualcomm, Autotalks, Broadcom Applications. Safety applications can be shown on vehicles IVI and/ or smartphones. For example, Intersection Movement Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Curve Speed Warning, Left Turn Assist, Lane Change Advisory and Do Not Pass Warning.
The City of Sunnyvale pilot is testing the benefits of V2X for easing traffic congestion, and enhancing fuel economy and public safety. 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 to evaluate 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.
The City of Sunnyvale is an innovator in establishing one of the first V2X testbeds in a real-world environment.
With many communities experiencing rapidly growing demands on their transportation infrastructure in the next few decades, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) launched its Smart City Challenge.
Savari provides sensors for the car, the road and the pedestrian, enabling V2V, V2I and V2P communication. Savari collects data in the cloud and provides predictive analytics.
In January, Savari announced it has raised $8 million in Series A funding.