(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/shansekala)

Safety is a big concern with vehicles, whether automated or not. Car manufacturer Ford has developed a V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) communications system which can warn other drivers of upcoming hazards and road blockages in real-time to help keep journeys safe, fast, and stress-free for everyone. 

Built in collaboration with St Petersburg State Polytechnic University, the system creates uses an ad-hoc network to keep other vehicles and their drivers up-to-date with upcoming conditions through a transmission method which is expected to be more reliable than WiFi and cellular. 

Of course if communication through other vehicles isn't possible, the system will dynamically choose to use a backup transmission method such as cellular. The researchers specifically looked at how best to share critical information in areas with poor connectivity options; such as entering a tunnel which blocks most signals.

Cosmonauts aboard the ISS have used it to control a robot on Earth

When entering a tunnel, a vehicle might experience a dangerous condition such as ice which could be useful information to other drivers in the area. With no cellular or WiFi connectivity available, this information couldn't be sent to alert other drivers and may result in a potentially avoidable crash and subsequent injury / fatality. 

The researchers solved this problem through V2V transmission and were able to successfully transmit information between vehicles from one end of the tunnel to the other. Even more clever, if the receiving vehicle has more connectivity options than its sender then it will relay the information to other drivers via the cloud so even vehicles out-of-reach of the V2V channel will receive the relevant data. If no cars are nearby, the danger to others won't be imminent and the data will be sent from the first car when connectivity resumes. 

Ford's project is due to be completed before the end of the year and could be put into production before long to deliver emergency messages to drivers of the company's vehicles. For some idea of just how robust this innovative technology is, Cosmonauts aboard the ISS have used it to control a robot on Earth whilst circumventing the noisy conditions, signal time delays, and equipment failures. 

Do you think vehicle-to-vehicle alerts will make driving safer? Let us know in the comments.