If you’ve been following the motoring beat over the past few years, you may have come across the terms “connected cars” and “vehicle to infrastructure”. As their names suggest, these simply mean that vehicles can talk to each other and to their surrounding infrastructure to help avoid or even eliminate accidents.
Most major auto manufacturers have come up with their own versions of the system, each one having a different name and a few differentiating features. Yet all have the same goal of an accident-free road network. The latest one comes from Honda, via its Smart Intersection technology.
This one is a vehicle to infrastructure (V2X) prototype that utilizes an actual intersection to demonstrate its potetnail. While this may sound like something for a large city like Los Angeles or Tokyo, it is actually located in small twon Marysville, Ohio. For those who are unaware, this is where Honda puts together its passenger cars for the US market. And it is where it is developing mobility technology for the future.
In a nutshell, the system is made up of a series of cameras placed on top of each stoplight at the intersection of 5th and Main streets. Within these cameras are sensors that communicate with a host of head-up display modules placed in a fleet of 20 Honda Pilots belonging to Honda employees. What this does is detect oncoming hazards such as emergency vehicles, red-light-beating vehicles, and pedestrians. This info is then sent back to the Honda vehicles to warn the driver via the head-up display and audible warnings.
