Berlin, 11 December 2008. CVIS, European flagship project for Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems, today hosts a live demonstration of Europe's first universal platform for vehicle-to-infrastructure communication and services.
 
The CVIS project has designed and developed, and will now test the technologies that enable drivers to interact directly with local traffic management systems, and receive recommendations on the best route to their destination, thus helping to reduce road congestion.This project, co-funded by the European Union and coordinated by ERTICO-ITS Europe, has created a mobile router with multiple communication interfaces, innovative positioning techniques and supporting services for the development of application software.
 
The CVIS technologies and applications developed over the last two and a half years are now moving into the testing phase. For the first time in a public demonstration, CVIS is able to present two cars communicating with each other and with the road infrastructure. This first demonstration will show how a seamless connection can be maintained while hopping between a 3G/UMTS cellular network and short- and medium-range communications based on mobile WLAN . This demonstration will use the newly-reserved ITS band around 5.9 GHz, commonly called "DSRC" (Dedicated Short Range Communication). A smooth handover between infrared and 3G cellular communication will also be shown.
 
Another demonstration will feature enhanced positioning, real-time maps and location referencing. This demo will show high-precision positioning solutions, accurate to under one meter. Applied in a car, such technology could help the driver to stay in lane, and would greatly improve the accuracy of safety systems such as lane departure warning.
 
The universal platform developed by the CVIS project is capable of connecting continuously and seamlessly using a wide range of communication media, including mobile cellular and wireless local area networks, short-range microwave or infrared. The CVIS universal platform is a major step towards mature car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication and services. Launched today to potential users beyond the CVIS consortium, this platform will be available for any current or future project needing a development prototype readily adaptable for both vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications.
 
Paul Kompfner, CVIS Project Manager of ERTICO says: "The deployment of such technologies holds the promise of many new benefits. It is expected to lead to the development of many new and enhanced in-car and cooperative services for increased road safety, efficiency, and traveller convenience." When communicating vehicles and infrastructure can produce and share real-time traffic and environment information, we expect to see fewer traffic accidents, lower congestion delays and costs, and reduced fuel consumption and pollutant emissions.
 
For more information please contact:

Alina Cornea, Communications Officer
Tel: +32 2 400 07 27; Email: a.cornea@mail.ertico.com

Selma Neuber, Corporate Communications Officer
Tel: +32 2 400 07 40; Email: s.neuber@mail.ertico.com