What's the news?
Volkswagen is going to introduce pWLAN technology to its cars, starting in 2019, which will allow them to talk to one another over a wireless link. What use is that, you may ask?
Well, it's all about safety. "We want to increase road safety with the aid of networked vehicles, and the most efficient way of achieving this is through the rapid roll-out of a common technology", explains Johannes Neft, Head of Vehicle Body Development for the Volkswagen brand. "What matters most is that the technology is used consistently, and by as many manufacturers and partners as possible."
The idea is that the cars which can talk to one another (and by talk we mean a pretty simple sharing of non-personal data) and 'tell' each other about any potential hazards or traffic snarl ups in the vicinity.
So if one car has to make an emergency stop, or its traction control system detects that the road is covered in oil or black ice, it can broadcast a warning to other cars with the same technology that there's danger in the area.
As with the recently shown Ford system, the Volkwagen pWLAN tech will also include a system that tells you when an emergency services vehicle is approaching, and where it's coming from.
In addition to this transport infrastructure operators in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria have announced plans to equip trailers used to block off roadworks with pWLAN technology, in order to reduce the risks of rear-end collisions in the area of roadworks on motorways.
Volkswagen says that customers worried about privacy or the cost of communications can rest easy. "The technology gives customers an added advantage, as it uses a special frequency band intended for road safety and traffic efficiency. Thanks to the localised nature of data exchanged using this band, no data is stored centrally, meaning that there are no ongoing communications costs and it does not rely on mobile phone network coverage" said a spokesperson. "At the same time, joint efforts are being undertaken with the partners to find ways of meeting the high requirements placed on data protection and the processing of personal data."