Frankfurt/Stuttgart – Traffic reports about wrong-way drivers are an all-too-familiar occurrence. Some 2,000 such warnings are broadcast on German radio alone each year. And all too often, these incidents lead to critical situations – including serious accidents. According to statistics, nearly every third of such incidents end – fatally, in the worst case – before the vehicle has traveled just 500 meters. However, it takes several minutes for warnings to be broadcast over the radio, by which time it is too late. Bosch is developing a new solution that alerts drivers much faster. The new Bosch cloud-based wrong-way driver warning is designed to provide a warning within ten seconds or so. “Bosch is developing a guardian angel in the data cloud,” says Dr. Dirk Hoheisel, member of the board of management at Robert Bosch GmbH. As a pure software module, this alert function can also be inexpensively integrated into existing infotainment systems or apps. The supplier of technology and services is planning to start production as early as 2016.
To detect wrong-way driving, the cloud-based function compares the vehicle's actual movements with the permitted direction of travel. Information about this is stored in a web-based database. If the two sets of information clash, the wrong-way driver is alerted to their error. At the same time, drivers of oncoming vehicles are also warned. The function relies on regular, anonymized reporting of each vehicle's position to the cloud – a central computer center in which data are stored and analyzed over the internet. The more connected vehicles there are, the denser the invisible safety net and the more comprehensively road users can be warned of wrong-way drivers.
Cost-effective system configuration
This new function will be available as a cloud service from 2016. It can be integrated into existing apps, as well as into automakers' infotainment solutions. In the medium term, the solution could also be integrated into standardized emergency call concepts such as eCall. The wrong-way driver alert requires an unbroken connection to the internet. Either the vehicle already has an appropriate infotainment solution on board, or the driver's smartphone is connected to the vehicle using an integration solution such as Bosch mySPIN. The good thing is that one of these connection options is often already fitted or can be easily retrofitted. There is no need to integrate any additional hardware. That makes the cloud solution as global as it is cost-effective. “We're aiming to achieve quick market acceptance so that the system can realize its life-saving potential to the full as soon as possible,” Hoheisel says.
Bosch uses connectivity for new services
Bosch is making the car an active part of the internet. Sensors, for example, collect a multitude of data both within the car and about its surroundings. Bosch then synchronizes these data via the cloud. The Bosch IoT Suite made by the Bosch subsidiary Bosch Software Innovations is the technological foundation for IoT applications. It provides all the functions needed to connect devices, users, companies, and partners on an IoT platform. Last but not least, Bosch offers an increasing number of services based on that platform. For Hoheisel, there is no doubt that connectivity “makes driving even safer, more efficient, and more convenient.” To give two automotive examples: using Bosch charging apps, drivers of electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids can use their smartphones to find charge spots with ease and pay for the electricity they use – no matter which of the many providers in Germany operates the facility. Nearly all public and web-enabled charge spots in Germany are already part of this network. Bosch also offers fleet management for fleet operators such as freight forwarding and car rental companies. A Bosch communication module relays vehicle operating data such as mileage, position, and error messages. This data helps optimize operations and service planning.
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