We live in amazing times where vehicles can be connected to and communicate with other road entities and users. Vehicle to everything is the term used to describe the aforementioned communication.
In fancier terms, vehicle to everything is a vehicular communication system that supports the transfer of information to moving parts of the traffic system that may have an impact on the vehicle. The main purpose of vehicle to everything is to improve road safety and improve overall traffic efficiency on the roads.
Types of Vehicle to Everything
There exist a couple of types of vehicle to everything communication depending on the entities the vehicle is communicating with;
Vehicle to Vehicle
V2V communication refers to vehicles communicating with other vehicles on the road. In V2V communication, data exchange is in real time. The interchange is done wirelessly via DSRC frequencies – the same used in vehicle to infrastructure communication, I might add. Vehicles can share their speed, location and heading as well as any other necessary information like a 360-degree representation of their surroundings.
V2V communication was conceived as a mesh network and as such, each vehicle becomes a node that can capture, send and retransmit signals. V2V is an integral part of vehicle to everything and vehicle to network communication and that way, nodes also include roadside infrastructure like traffic lights and road sensors.
As a result of the mesh design, vehicles with V2V technology record real-time information of everything happening in a radius of 300 meters around them. Car makers have done one better and fitted their products with top-tier driving assist systems.
Vehicle to Infrastructure
Vehicle to infrastructure involves communication between the vehicle and roadside infrastructure, that is traffic lights and the likes.
Vehicle to Pedestrian
Vehicle to pedestrian refers to communication between vehicles and pedestrians.
How Vehicle to Everything Works
There are different communication protocols in connected vehicles technology but in general, the information travels from the vehicle sensors and other sources through high bandwidth, high reliability links. It is these links that allow the vehicle to communicate with other cars, infrastructure like parking spaces and traffic lights, and smartphone-bearing pedestrians.
Information such as speed is shared with other entities around the vehicle, which improves the driver’s awareness of potential dangers and helps reduce the severity of injuries and accident fatalities, if any.
Traffic efficiency is also enhanced by warning drivers of upcoming traffic, suggesting alternate routes to avoid traffic and identifying available parking spaces.
Communication protocols
Cellular v2X
CV2X uses LTE as the underlying technology with its capabilities being based on the technology. Users can choose from several operational modes, which is an added advantage.
The first mode involves direct communication between vehicles over the PC5 interface. PC5 is the reference point where the user equipment directly communicates with other equipment over the channel.
CV2X is designed for active safety warnings such as road hazard warning and generally any other situations where Vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communication is involved. Implementation of CV2X ensures all road users are protected including cyclists and pedestrians. This is done by getting the PC5 interface integrated into smartphones. It will help detect pedestrians and cyclists using the same road to prevent accidents and injuries.
Cellular V2X allows the device to use vehicle to network communication as well which leads me to a side note;
Vehicle to network communication
Vehicle to network communication uses cellular networks to communicate with the vehicle to everything management system. Vehicle to network also uses dedicated short-range communications to interact with other vehicles as well as the road infrastructure.
At some level, this level of connectivity allows vehicles to be considered as a device, just like your smartphone or tablet. By accessing mobile network operators’ LTE, 5G infrastructure and DSRC systems, vehicles can receive broadcast alerts pertaining to road conditions like accidents, congestion and weather. They can also communicate with nearby vehicles via cellular networks and DSRC.
Vehicles can also communicate with data centers and other devices connected to the internet. Lastly, vehicles can establish communication with pedestrians’ devices to achieve vehicle to pedestrian communication.
In a nutshell, vehicle to network communication allows vehicles to reliably interact with infrastructure, other vehicles and pedestrians as well.
IEEE 802.11p
It is the original vehicle to everything communication standard that uses WLAN technology. It links vehicles to vehicles and vehicle to infrastructure when two vehicle to everything senders get close to each other’s range. This standard does not require any network coverage for it to work, which makes it ideal for less-developed areas.
This standard exceeds the line of sight sensors like cameras and delivers information like toll payments and collision warnings. Key identifiers of the 802.11p standard include low latency. It also runs in the unlicensed 5.9 GHz band.
The best thing about this particular standard is the fact that it delivers regardless of the weather conditions. It will still deliver performance even in intense rain, snow or fog. On top of that, it can scan the surrounding environment even in said adverse weather.
