VW Cars Will Talk to Each Other by 2019

Volkswagen says that it will start adding car-to-car communication to its cars in 2019.

The technology allows cars that are within 500 meters (1,640 ft) of one another to share information about driving conditions, traffic, and accidents.

As VW, puts it, it makes it possible for cars to effectively, “look around the corner.” The system will run on the pWLAN standard, allowing it to communicate with vehicles from other brands as well.

Car-to-car technology is widely seen as an important stepping stone toward autonomous driving. With cars sharing information about the road, they can account for things that are hard to detect with sensors—or eyes for that matter—in real time.

“We want to increase road safety with the aid of networked vehicles, and the most efficient way of achieving this is through the rapid roll-out of a common technology,” said Johannes Neft, Head of Vehicle Body Development at VW. “What matters most is that the technology is used consistently, and by as many manufacturers and partners as possible.”

And the system really is car-to-car, with no centralized data storage. That helps reduce the costs and means that the system doesn’t rely on a cell network.

Volkswagen’s cars will also be able to communicate with infrastructure under this scheme, as well. A form of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication is already being tested by Audi. In Las Vegas, some A4 Allroad drivers get a countdown at red lights, so that they know when they can go again.

Emergency services, too, could participate in car-to-car communication. In addition to sirens, the police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances will be able to transmit their approach through your infotainment system.

Volkswagen says it is also working with partners to ensure that the limited data shared through V2V communication is kept safe.

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