5G NetMobil project validates tactile connected driving

Funded with €9.5m from Germany’s Ministry of Education and Research, the project’s results include a system that alerts drivers to unseen dangers at blind intersections, and further improvements in platooning for lorries on motorways and agricultural vehicles working in parallel whilst harvesting.

Platooning will see commercial vehicles join up in convoy-like platoons where synchronised acceleration, braking, and steering enables trucks to operate less than 10m apart.

Bosch’s Dr. Frank Hofmann, who is coordinating the research project told The Engineer via email that major benefits of platooning are reduced fuel consumption and less CO2 because of the so-called ‘windshield effect’[slipstream effect], better road use, and higher safety because subsequent trucks are immediately informed about speed and braking of trucks in front.

Vodafone and AT&T get IoT on the road with car-to-car comms

The project's crossing assistant has seen a camera installed in roadside infrastructure to detect cyclists and pedestrians and to warn vehicles within milliseconds to prevent critical situations, such as when a car turns into a side street.