Jul 29, 2008 - Saving Human Lives with Ford’s Smart Intersection Technology

In an attempt to minimize the growing number of accidents at most traffic intersections in the U.S., the Ford Motor Company has unveiled its new Smart Intersection Technology. Statistics show that 40% of all traffic accidents and 20% of all crash-related fatalities occur at intersections. Also, with an ever-growing urban population, there is a constant increase in the number of accidents happening in cities.

This Smart Intersection Technology was introduced in Dearborn, Michigan by Ford’s Research and Innovation Center, and it utilizes two pre-existing technologies – GPS technology and wireless infrastructure-to-vehicle communications. The use of these two technologies is predicted to ease congestion and reduce fuel consumption by reducing the number of accidents at intersections and therefore reducing long commuter lineups at these accident scenes.

Ford’s new technology will transmit several important data pieces. This comprises a digital map of the intersection, six additional maps of surrounding stop sign intersections and crosswalks, lane-specific GPS location along with traffic light status and timing information. After receiving the information, the collision avoidance system of the vehicle will be able to determine whether the car would be able to cross the intersection safely or not. If there is some hurdle in the way, the system will sense the danger and issue visual and audio warnings to the driver. Currently, this system is capable of complementing an already existing feature on Ford vehicles, known as the SIRIUS Travel Link.

With the help of such an excellent system, the growing number of head-on-collisions occurring at congested intersections will hopefully be reduced. Imagine a driver approaching an intersection while being distracted by children or other passengers in the vehicle – the system would receive information about an oncoming red light or approaching congestion and relay this to the driver, increasing the chance that he or she will be able to stop in time.

By launching this smart intersection project, Ford’s research will surely accelerate itself into proprietary active safety technologies. Currently, it is facing a competition with General Motors Corp., Honda Motor Co., Daimler AG, Toyota Motor Corp., the federal government, and local and county road commissions. This project is currently undertaken as a joint public-private effort and is known as the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP).