QMIC to test Connected Vehicles technology next year

The Qatar Mobility Innovation Centre (QMIC) will launch the pilot phase of the Connected Vehicle Technology (V2X) by late 2017, Gulf Times reported.

“QMIC is preparing for the deployment of the pilot phase of a national field operational test in Doha, by deploying around 30 to 50 equipped vehicles and 20 to 30 roadside units,” revealed Dr Adnan Abu Dayya, executive director and CEO, QMIC.

“We might carry out the pilot at Qatar University campus, which is a large area and has a big number of vehicles and people moving in and out. We might also look for a busy intersection or a street,” the official explained.

The US Department of Transportation studies show that Connected Vehicles, if fully implemented, could prevent up to 80% of road accidents as the technology aims to avoid accidents completely.

“The cars will send a lot of data and understand each other. If there is any danger or any impending danger ahead, the cars will communicate with each other,” Dr Abu Dayya said.

“The cars can alert the driver before an accident can happen. Either, the cars will send an alert or maybe the cars themselves will act. Cars may move very slowly or might even stop,” he continued.

The Connected Vehicles technology will give alerts about the speed limits, road diversions among others. This can be car-to-car communications as well as infrastructure to cars communication.”

The V2X will change intelligent transportation by enabling wireless communication among vehicles and infrastructure in a seamless manner and using a common standard or language.

This will enable the realisation of next generation road safety systems and is considered a key enabler for future autonomous and self-driving vehicles.

"Through the pilot, we aim to get the feedback from the drivers about safety and their awareness about the technology. We look forward to find out the most suitable option, applications and services in terms of road safety for Qatar. It’ll also enable us to identify any deployment problems and have a complete system in terms of hardware, software, applications and services.”

Dr Abu-Dayya pointed out that QMIC has established regional technology and know-how leadership in this area. QMIC has participated in making, testing and validating the related international standards in Europe and participated in three Plugtests held in Europe in the last few years.

“In 2014, QMIC carried out the first field demo of a standard-compliant V2X system and applications in the Mena region. This was conducted using two cars and six road side units and a few vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure applications,” he recalled.

According to the official, the pilot programme will be a unique platform in Qatar and the region to assess locally the emerging technology and related applications.

“It’s important to highlight that there’re at least two different standards — the European and the US — that could be deployed in Qatar and the region, and it’s extremely important to test these two different options to objectively assess and have the most suitable technology and applications for the local needs,” he maintained.

“We believe that our connected vehicles pilot will contribute to wider deployments of V2X in Qatar and the region by providing the local authorities with appropriate recommendations, the necessary know-how and best practices,” Dr Abu-Dayya added.

Courtesy: gulf-times.com