Exploring the Internet-of-Vehicles
My family’s business has installed countless traffic control systems and taught millions of people how to drive cars safely on chaotic, urban roads in China. Our future success, however, may rely on whether we are able to further connect the traffic systems to cars, and teach cars how to drive themselves.
The proliferation of Internet-of-Thing (IoT) technologies, products, and services is highly prevalent in the Smart City concept, especially in road safety management. A key driver in this trend is the rapid growth of Internet-of-Vehicles (IoV) devices that allow vehicles to exchange information, making road transportation more efficient and safe. One of the main principles in IoV is the creation of the Social Internet of Vehicles that would connect smart cars, road sensors, and infrastructure.
There are five main types of connections that the IoV requires: Vehicle to Vehicle, Vehicle to Human, Vehicle to Sensor, Vehicle to Infrastructure, and Vehicle to Road-Side Unit (RSU).
Using these connections, the framework of IoV can be described in this architecture:
1. Perception: This layer consists of various sensors and actuators included in vehicles, smartphones (and wearables), RSUs, and more.
2. Network: This communication layer is crucial, requiring networks such as 5G, WAVE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for the devices to all connect to each other.
3. Application: Analysis, storage, processing, and decision making about all possible risk situations. It encompasses efficiency, safety, and “infotainment”.
What are some of the advantages of IoV?
Improved safety: The priority of any road traffic related company should be the safety of passengers and pedestrians. Nearly 1.2 million people die each year in road crashes, mostly due to human error. IoV technology could better monitor drivers’ habits.
Environmental Goals: IoV contributes to smart infrastructure including connected and shared vehicles, streetlights, parking lots with sensors, and traffic and gas management technologies will significantly reduce vehicle emissions in big cities. Optimized routes and less congestion, as well as more carsharing services and autonomous/electric vehicles will aid in creating a more sustainable future.
Cost Savings: IoV makes way for the wider adoption of carsharing services and autonomous driving, which is a serious budget-saver for people and cities.
Looking foward
As we look toward the future, it is vital that we adopt an innovative spirit to progress our business in a new digital age. IoV opens a lot of doors for our company to pursue the development and implementation of new technologies as we strive to make roads a safe space for all. There are a lot of devices we can make for IoV capabilities, but it appears that the issue is incredible vast, so we may focus on a suite of devices and systems that will allow cities to better integrate IoV in their development towards being a smart city.
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