Driving safety is closely related to vision while driving. For the driver's blind spots in the field of vision, Ford has developed a new communication technology based on smart phone functional applications. Through the Internet of Vehicles and smartphone applications, it prompts the driver to pay attention to pedestrians in the blind spots to avoid collisions and improve driving safety.
The concept-stage smartphone app works by using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology on pedestrians' phones to pass their location to a connected car-enabled Ford vehicle . If the vehicle calculates that there is a potential collision risk, the on-board Ford SYNC® system will provide early warning information to the vehicle driver by displaying pedestrian, cyclist or other warning graphics on the in-car screen and sounding an alarm at the same time.
The Bluetooth low-power technology mentioned above has been widely used in smartphones; its power is very low and it can run for a long time with very low power consumption. The Bluetooth low energy connection in our daily life usually requires the pairing of two devices, but this innovative technology of Ford uses the Bluetooth low energy chip as a beacon and can sense multiple other similar devices within the range without pairing; if a person is using a Bluetooth low energy device, the system distinguishes pedestrians, cyclists, etc. based on their traveling speed, and then further assesses the risk of collision based on their traveling direction.
And Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology does not rely on line-of-sight detection like cameras or radar, so pedestrians and other road traffic participants will be monitored even if they are temporarily obscured by obstacles such as buildings. In view of the fact that urban roads are usually shared by people and vehicles, the traffic pressure is very high, and the road traffic environment is complex, this feature is particularly important for the blind spot monitoring function.
Targeting the driver’s blind spots, the new communication technology Ford is developing based on smartphone function applications will effectively improve driving safety. Ford is currently exploring additional ways to enhance vehicle perception so that drivers can feel more at ease when driving on roads with different traffic participants, including pedestrians and cyclists.
