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Cars of the Future:
Motorola Israel is in the Driver's Seat
New systems to create an autonomous communication system on the road
The car of the future will be a communications center for
information on road conditions and general environment and
the vehicle itself. Each car will be a link in a widespread mobile
information network. This vision is the brainchild of Motorola,
and is being advanced through the ITS (Intelligent Transportation
Systems) project, initiated and led by Motorola as part of the
European R&D Project. In 2005, Motorola established the REACT
consortium, followed by the January 2006 COM2REACT followup
consortium, the recipient of a 5 million euro grant. Motorola
is currently drafting a proposal for a third consortium, to develop
M2M (machine to machine) capabilities at its complementary
products division, managed by Aharon Mirsky.
The guiding principle of these first two projects is that cars have
the capacity to gather information on road and traffic conditions
and transmit it to command and control centers that can analyze
the data and adjust road signs and send recommendations to
drivers.
Dr. Chanan Gabay, who leads the consortiums, explains that
Motorola came up with the idea in response to a study of the
priorities of the Framework Project.
“An important EU goal is the reduction by half of casualties
from traffic accidents by 21010” says Gabay. “The EU is troubled
by the disproportionate number of road accident casualties, in
comparison with air traffic accidents.”
Gabay realized that significance of the remark. Air traffic,
unlike land traffic, is controlled by a closed circuit of command
and control towers: no plane takes off, flies or lands without
permission from the tower. The idea proposed by Motorola Israel
is to create a closed command and control system on the basis of
car computers developed in Israel, sensors installed in the cars and
cellular communication between motor vehicles and the regional,
municipal or national control center.
The first consortium, which provides a demonstration of the
concept, has ten partners, among them Munich Technical University,
Dutch electro-optic sensor manufacturer TNO and the Bavarian
Transportation Administration. The system includes a skid sensor, to
identify skid hazards, a visibility sensor which recognizes weather
conditions such as rain and fog, a motion sensor to check traffic
conditions via two smart, software-controlled video cameras.
The sensors are connected to a car computer made by Motorola
Israel, and a cellular communication system transmits the data to
a command and control center developed by the German company
Tranver, with Munich University and the Bavarian Transportation
Administration. This past June, there were trials on Munich roads,
which were reviewed by the automotive industry in September.
The follow-up project, COM2REACT, is designed for situations
in which a vehicle is in an area with no command and control
center.
“The idea is to turn the car into part of a mesh network, in
which cars communicate directly with one another,” explains
Gabay. “One car in every region will be able to assume control
of the network, gather the data from the nearby cars, process it
and send it to a major control center. Essentially, this is a virtual
control center that shifts from one car to another.”
Although the EU panel that examined the proposal was impressed
enough to award it the highest score, they noted they didn't believe
the proposal was feasible. The follow-up development team was
joined by Peugeot Citroen labs, Telefonica of Spain, Navteq, the
largest digital map creator in Europe, the Israeli startup Sphericon
and Jerusalem Transportation, which is building the light rail line
in Jerusalem. David Lubinski, the Israeli importer for Peugeot
Citroen, volunteered to assist the project, which will be tried on a
fleet of Citroen C3 cars. A demonstration of the system is planned
for October 2007 in Paris.
Why are you embarking on such a complex project?
"In 2009, says Gabay, “cars will be outfitted with a black box
(eCall), which will be able to send out an automatic emergency
call. This means that, as of 2009, all new cars on Europe's roads
will be equipped with a communication device. Motorola’s direct
gain is insight into market trends: we will learn which accessories
and products are in demand, and what solutions Europeans are
seeking.
“The project also helps answer questions about communication
between vehicles and the operations of control and distress centers,
the nature of the systems and their technological features. We are
looking for a business model that will enable us to operate the
services connected with eCall, and our project demonstrates the
added value offered by the system.”