The MK5 onboard and roadside unit (pictured) from Cohda Wireless will be used for the South Carolina Connected Vehicle Testbed.
Australian tracking technology from Cohda Wireless has been selected for a trial that aims to lay the groundwork for connected vehicles across the United States.
Adelaide-based Cohda Wireless claim that their hardware and software products are already used in more than 60 per cent of all V2X (Vehicle to everything) field trials worldwide today.
South Carolina-based Clemson University has chosen Cohda to supply its MK5 onboard and roadside unit hardware and software for the project supported by US Ignite, a White House initiative that is run by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that aims to lay the groundwork for the expected mandating of Connected Vehicle technology in the US within four years. By 2020, it is likely the US Department of Transportation will likely mandate all new vehicles to be Connected Vehicles.
The South Carolina Connected Vehicle Testbed is located along a 16km segment of Interstate I-85 near Greenville, South Carolina. Clemson University will use Cohda Wireless units for for its Automotive Research (ICAR) campus in Greenville South Carolina.
Clemson University School of Computing Associate Professor Jim Martin said Cohda’s technology was chosen primarily for two reasons. “Firstly Cohda’s MK5 onboard unit and roadside unit performed well in validation tests and, secondly, because the support provided by Cohda to help us get our equipment up and running was outstanding,” he said.
Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray said inclusion on this US Ignite-backed project provided valuable recognition of Cohda’s role in the global industry. “This further extends Cohda’s leading position as a provider of innovative Connected Vehicle technology,” he said.
Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray
When establishing the SC-CVT project, the NSF stated that by the end of the decade, the US Department of Transportation would likely require all new vehicles to be Connected Vehicles, capable of communicating with other vehicles and roadside infrastructure through wireless communications in order to reduce the number of crashes and save lives.
Crash avoidance applications supported by V2V and V2I connectivity exchange safety-critical information such as speed, location and direction of movement to assess the crash risk based on the proximity of vehicles.
For more information about Cohda hardware and software, visit www.cohdawireless.com.
