Radio system tells bus drivers about road accidents

A radio system that tells bus drivers about road accidents and traffic jams has been set up in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province in north-east China.

The city authorities and Renesas collaborated to produce wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE). This is a wireless LAN technology that conforms to the IEEE 802.11p standard and can provide the previously impossible high-speed/high-capacity communications required for image transmission.

The network is believed to be the world’s first intelligent transport system. It is seen as the next generation of wireless technology capable of supporting car-to-car and road-to-car connections.

The Changchun installation uses WAVE terminals in three public buses, eight bus stops and an intersection that connects Changchun station with the municipal government.

The terminals are fed with information, including video, from a series of cameras at various sites. The scenes at the intersections are projected onto the monitor in the bus so that the driver can determine the state of traffic congestion.

By showing the scene inside the bus to the Changchun Transit Authority (CTA), it can also see the degree of crowding and even use some of the information in crime prevention.

Another advantage of the system is that the CTA can estimate the bus arrival time and by displaying this information at bus stops can tell passengers of delays.

Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) is a global effort to connect vehicles and the roads they drive on with a network to resolve road and traffic problems such as traffic jams and accidents. High-capacity data communications between vehicles (car to car) and between traffic signal equipment, road information management systems and roads-to-vehicles communications are required to make ITS work. This includes measures such as electronic toll collection, GPS for navigation, safe driving support systems and public transport management services.

This WAVE technology in Changchun is the latest example of bringing this technology all together and speeding traffic flow in the city.

Renases and Changchun National Optoelectronics Industry Base Development co-hosted the test with the support of the city’s bureau of industry and information along with the Public Transport Group and Changchun’s Information Centre.

Between them they built the verification test infrastructure system with Renases providing the WAVE platform, integrating the technology and related software including software for the bus control system.

As the next step, the company will provide an ITS terminal platform system with key devices and technological support to the city that is aiming at a full deployment of a WAVE system.

The city is serviced by an extensive bus network and there is a tram service that has contracted as personal transport has grown. China’s first urban light rail system was built in 2002 to service the 7.5 million population, many of whom are employed in the foodstuffs, photoelectronics information, biology and medicine industries as well as motor building.

As the largest vehicle-building base in the country, the city produces tractors and passenger trains in addition to passenger and goods road vehicles.