Volkswagen Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication Coming In 2019

Working alongside the autonomous car technology push is inter-vehicle communication, and Volkswagen says its customers can expect to see it as soon as 2019.

Dubbed V2V (vehicle to vehicle) and V2I (vehicle to infrastructure) - or increasingly, V2X - the technology is viewed as vital as cars increasingly drive themselves.

Among the benefits is communication with traffic signals, enabling vehicles to know whether vehicles around traffic lights or level crossings will be moving once it arrives. This serves the dual benefit of improving fuel consumption and reducing congestion.

Vehicles can also communicate with other vehicles, letting them know about congestion ahead, a traffic incident or even potholes. 

In the beginning, Volkswagen says its vehicles will be fitted with V2V technology capable of communicating with surrounding vehicles “within a few milliseconds” up to 500 metres.

Should Volkswagen find itself alone with the V2X tech in 2019, other carmakers shouldn’t be far behind as communication frequencies have already been standardised with future self-driving vehicles in mind.

Technology