V2X Technology Successfully Tested on Ambulances

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Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to everything (V2X) communications has already marked the future of autonomous and smart transportation. Using such technologies, vehicles can communicate with each other and with their environments.
Several groups conducted a demonstration experiment showcasing an emergency vehicle priority system that uses a UHF-based (high frequency) Japanese-originated international standard V2X communications technology, according to rrmediagroup.com.
The experiment was conducted in India, and demonstrated the use of an emergency vehicle priority system in which an emergency vehicle, such as an ambulance, and traffic information display boards communicate with each other through the UHF band using Japanese V2X communications technology. This is the first demonstration of its kind in the world on a public road.
The demonstration used the application of UHF-band V2X communications technology, aimed at helping ambulances reach their destination in the quickest time possible, which is sometimes not possible with traffic congestion.
This technology prompts traffic information display boards installed on the road to display information of an approaching emergency vehicle. Following the detection of an emergency vehicle, the display boards will inform motorists on the road to make way for the priority passage of the emergency vehicle. The demonstration used the UHF band because of its high penetrability through buildings and natural obstructions and less interference from other devices.
A V2X communications device was installed on an emergency vehicle and on traffic information display boards. When an emergency vehicle equipped with a V2X communications device approached the traffic information board on which a V2X communications device is installed, the V2X devices communicated with each other and the information that an emergency vehicle was approaching was displayed on the traffic information board for the motorists on the road, enabling them to make way and allow the priority passage of the emergency vehicle.
The V2X technology is similar to the Japanese 700 MHz band intelligent transportation systems (ITS) standard (ARIB STD – T109).
In the next phase of the experiment, more methods on how the emergency vehicle travel times can be further shortened will be explored. Further examining and customization of V2X messaging sets will be undertaken using the local requirements in India. The next deployment will also aim at integrating a signal control system with V2X technology to provide stoppage-free green corridor passage to emergency vehicles. A future study to expand the project to cover other key prominent locations in which the team can implement such V2X communications technologies will also be explored.