Ford researches new technologies to improve road safety

US automaker Ford says it is working with Commsignia, PSS, Ohio State University, T-Mobile and Tome Software on smartphone-based communications technology that could eventually warn drivers, cyclists and pedestrians of potential hazards .

Ford already has a concept app in mind that can then communicate with Ford vehicles with Sync, for example. T-Mobile is currently supporting early testing with its 5G infrastructure. The concept app works on pedestrians’ smartphones and uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate the pedestrian’s location to Ford Connected vehicles traveling through the area. Does the car recognize e.g. For example, in the event of a potential collision, Ford Sync can alert the driver so they can take action even if they can’t see the pedestrian.

Ford presented the technology this week at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s World Congress in Los Angeles. Ford also sees other areas of application, for example to reliably identify and protect construction sites and construction workers. Incidentally, BLE is included as a technical basis because the technology is already widespread.

However, I myself think it’s doubtful that all sorts of people who don’t drive a Ford themselves would download such an app to transmit their location to vehicles in the immediate vicinity. Especially since there would certainly be some potential for abuse.

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