Toward a collision avoidance system based on the integration of technologies

Abstract

Integrating emerging technologies into current systems is critical to enhance the human quality of life. In the field of transportation, the automobile is the predominant locomotion method used by people. Even though new vehicular safety systems have been integrated into vehicles, road accidents are still one of the major reasons for death worldwide. In general, Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) that share roads with vehicles have second priority in safety systems for the Intelligent Transportation System, since they are mostly focused on avoiding collision between vehicles. However, VRUs do represent a very significant percent of the victims of road accidents. In this paper, we propose a solution where the integration of current and future technologies to the vehicular safety system is a key factor, so that roads will be a better place for all the actors (people, animals, and vehicles) that transit on them. In order to protect VRUs and animals on or nearby the roads, a collision-avoidance system with two levels is proposed. The idea is to have a flexible solution that will integrate any current technology and new technologies as they appear. Warning information will be delivered in real-time about people, other living beings, vehicles, and obstacles when a possible collision is detected. On the lower level, on-board computers can address imminent threats thanks to the access to lightweight quality information consisting of data samples shared by vehicles, persons, and animals that join the common platform. In the upper level, additional support based on pre-processed information coming as a service from the Cloud will also assist any decision. With all this information, a vehicle will be in the capacity of taking instant safety decisions, in real-time, and without overloading its local computational resources.