Vehicle driver message alert system using DSRC/WAVE and bluetooth.

Abstract

To save lives and prevent injuries on roadways, inter-vehicle communication as well as communication between vehicles and roadside is required. Intelligent Transportation system (ITS) is a mission of the US department of transportation which focuses on intelligent vehicles, intelligent infrastructure and the creation of an intelligent transportation system through integration with and between these two components. Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) is a tool approved for licensing by the FCC in 2003 which promises to partially fulfill this mission. This research utilizes DSRC infrastructure to communicate the traffic safety information available at the roadside to a Bluetooth enabled cell phone inside the vehicle. A major objective of this research project was to design, build and demonstrate a wireless communication interface device which can act as a traffic-safety-information transportation agent between the DSRC vehicle radio unit and a Bluetooth enabled cell phone inside a vehicle. By having this interface device along with the DSRC radio unit in a vehicle as a separate entity or integrated with a DSRC unit, any driver will be able to receive the valuable traffic safety messages on his Bluetooth enabled cell phone. The system prototype was designed and built. The demonstration was given for multiple road and traffic scenarios by successfully transmitting the traffic safety messages to the Bluetooth enabled cell phone. This prototype system can be used as a building block for a diverse array of traffic safety applications.