Two European standards organisations, ETSI and CEN, have today confirmed the EU is one step closer to making connected cars a reality. After carrying out research projects worth €180 million on cooperative transport systems, common standards allowing vehicles made by different manufacturers to communicate with each other have been developed.
As a result, the next generation of cars that will be able to communicate with each other and with road infrastructures, are expected to appear on European roads in 2015.
As Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, said: "With this set of standards ready, connected cars are on the right track. Direct communication between vehicles and infrastructures will ensure safer and more efficient traffic flows, with great benefits for drivers & pedestrians, our environment and our economy.
This shows Europe's unique digital advantage. But for connected cars to really work, we also need more consistency in rules that underpin fast broadband networks. Our fragmented spectrum policy puts the brakes on our economy – now it's time to get our connected continent up to cruising speed".
Connected cars are able to communicate with each other and with road infrastructures. As a result, they can make our lives more convenient, as well as promote safety and protect the environment. However, these vehicles should feature common technical requirements regarding, for example, frequencies used or data management.
EU-funded research projects have played a major role in the development of the next generation of cars since they provided their results to ETSI and CEN/ISO, which in turn used them to develop the standards. The EU also funded different operational tests and pilots, as well as standardisation project teams.
Work on the Release 2 standardisation package has already begun to harmonize existing standards. Finally, European organisations work closely with American and Japanese organisations to ensure that the systems are compatible across the globe.