TechTheDay

While driverless cars are still not ready for regular road use, it’s great to know that car makers are investing in the development of technologies that help make driving safer. One of the new automotive technologies worth looking forward to is the wireless system that is set to be introduced by General Motors. It is an anti-collision technology designed to prevent vehicle-to-vehicle accidents.

General Motors, the world’s second biggest car manufacturer, plans to start installing an anti-collision technology in their cars. This technology mainly aims to prevent collisions or crashes between cars without the need for any human input or intervention. It may not comprehensively address all forms of automotive accidents but it can be considered a significant step in ensuring car safety on the road.

V2V Technology

General Motors’ anti-collision technology is expected to be formally announced this Sunday. It is believed that the company wants to make use of the technology to help address the controversy over its failure to recall vehicles for safety reasons. General Motors was fined $35 million back in May for the safety failure.

This vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology is different from the alerts and warnings provided by modern cars equipped with high-tech sensors, cameras, and radars. It does not only provide alerts to drivers, it actually communicates with other vehicles on the road to help coordinate the best response between vehicles to avoid accidents. It allows a vehicle to react to other vehicles especially in intersections and other critical circumstances. It is more advanced than the safety and anti-collision features in current use.

Instead of simply sensing its environment, this V2V technology is aimed at creating a communication network among cars in close proximity. General Motors has yet to release details on how this will work but basically, the idea is to make cars more reactive to each other by sensing each other’s presence.

Concerns

This technology, however, raises a number of questions regarding its effectiveness. Foremostly, there’s the question of whether or not it will work with non-GM cars. There is no standard on vehicle-to-vehicle anti-collision and wireless communication systems yet so it’s not clear how this technology will greatly benefit drivers and passengers.

There’s also the issue of possible hacking. Once cars become interconnected, they can become targets of hacking. They may not transmit highly sensitive information but they may expose information that can be considered violative enough of a person’s privacy. Governments may even exploit weaknesses in the technology or covertly connect to it in the same way the Stingray has been used by law enforcement officers.

Moreover, the are some who are skeptical if General Motors is really sincerely trying to make its cars safer or they are only trying to mitigate the bad press they have been getting because of their recent car safety issues. There are those who think that GM is only floating this idea to appease possible car buyers, to show that the company is doing something to improve their cars’ safety and reliability.

Availability

General Motors’ vehicle-to-vehicle anti-collision technology is expected to be available on some vehicles from the company in two years. In February, the United States Department of Transportation was reported to be planning on requiring car-to-car communication systems to prevent crashes. The US Department of Transportation is pushing for a regulatory proposal that would help ensure road safety by helping drivers avoid crashes. Hence, with the government backing the deployment of the technology, drivers and passengers can expect that the anti-collision technology will not remain a concept for a long time. Moreover, it is expected to become available not only in the United States but also in major markets where GM cars are sold, including China and Europe.

General Motors is not the first to float the idea of offering an anti-collision technology in their vehicles. Toyota, the world’s leading car maker, also has similar plans. The Japanese company targets a mid-decade launch of anti-collision systems and self driving cars. Toyota’s plan was already publicized some eleven months ago. It’s just unclear if Toyota can really deploy their anti-collision technology as scheduled. It definitely does not matter which company gets to bring the commercial version of the technology to the car industry first. What’s important is that these new automotive technologies are materializing and will likely improve vehicle safety on the road.