Volkswagen to create cars that can communicate with each other by 2019

All along with electric vehicles, Volkswagen is also focusing on making its cars more linked. And with view to the same, the company has proclaimed that from 2019, some of its models will be built-in with Public Wireless Local Area Network (pWLAN). This will dish up as an additional communication technology which will let the cars to communicate with each other and swap information linked to traffic, routes, road blocks etc. The communication will be between cars and transport infrastructure as well. Volkswagen says that the diversity of communication will be just about 500 metres, to start on with.

The technology in question, is the IEEE 802.11p (pWLAN) standard. The company has homogeneous and tested for the direct, non-proprietary, inter-vehicle communication. As mentioned earlier, the pWLAN will also let the car to communicate with the transport infrastructure systems as well. The cars will use a exacting frequency band which will only be planned for road safety and traffic emergency. With the radius being within 500 metres, the data is not stored centrally and therefore, it does not rely on mobile phone network. This technology will nearly make it probable to see what is beyond the next turn or 500 metres ahead on the road.

"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", explains Johannes Neft, Head of Vehicle Body Development for the Volkswagen brand. "What matters most is that the technology is used consistently, and by as many manufacturers and partners as possible."

Well that’s not all, also the company is trying hard to co-operate with other authorities such as ministry of transport, and others so that the technology will be included soon in all production models. Volkswagen is also working on protection of personal data (of customers of cars with pWLAN).