Daimler brings car-to-x technology to production vehicles
The car-to-x technology enables motorists to virtually see around the corner or beyond obstacles, thereby helping to reduce blind spots and increase the overall traffic safety. "The technology’s greatest potential lies in this expansion of the telematics horizon", said Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimer AG.
The car-to-x communications capability is provided by means of the Drive Kit Plus option which will be used in combination with a smartphone. On the latter, an app developed by Mercedes-Benz ("Digital DriveStyle") will be installed that carries the necessary functionality. The smartphone takes the part of the data transport over the air.
Daimler regards the smartphone approach as the fastest way to deploy the technology and also the quickest way to "unlocking the safety potential of car-to-x technology", as the company puts it. Indeed, the technology hitherto faced a problem: As long as not at least a double-digit percentage of the vehicles is equipped with car-to-car communications, it does not make much sense from the customer’s perspective to buy this option. This assessment, in turn, would keep the number of users low – the classical chicken-and-egg problem. The smartphone solution seems to have the potential to overcome this problem.
How does Car-to-X technology work in vehicles? When warning messages are issued in the vicinity of the vehicle, from example by an emergency services vehicle or a broken down vehicle, the driver receives a warning in advance in good time and the hazardous location is marked on the map. With this information he has the option of adjusting his driving style and speed in such a way that a dangerous situation does not even arise in the first place. Thanks to Car-to-X technology, the driver can also be warned at an early stage about wrong-way drivers or dangerous weather conditions.
In addition to receiving warning messages, each vehicle fitted with Car-to-X communication can also transmit information on dangers to other road users and therefore contribute to enhancing road safety. Cars are able to detect many of these dangers automatically and without the driver being required to take any action, thanks to the seamless integration of the Car-to-X system in the vehicle’s own systems. For dangers which are not detected automatically, or which cannot yet be detected automatically, a manual notification option has been created. At the press of a button, immobile vehicles or animals on the road, wrong-way drivers or shed loads can be notified via the Mercedes Cloud. This then sends a warning message to all vehicles fitted with Car-to-X technology in the vicinity of the hazardous location.
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