V2X systems allow infrastructure owners and operators to send and receive data from various road users, supporting the creation of effective and agile traffic plans. This futuristic vision isn’t so far away – V2X communications between vehicles and traffic infrastructure are already helping dynamically adjust signal timing, allowing transit and emergency vehicles to reach their destinations faster, keeping public transportation vehicles on time, and improving traffic flows for greater mobility. Using V2X solutions reduces delays and minimizes accident risks.
Let’s look at how this works in practice. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and CIRRUS by Panasonic are working together to implement this promise of smart transportation to create safer roads and improve traffic efficiency. Through innovative vehicle-to-everything (V2X) software and hardware solutions, the partnership is implementing systems that facilitate real-time communication between vehicles and traffic infrastructure, creating safer and more responsive roads.
Use cases with UDOT have already shown great potential in implementing transit signal priority, improving snowplow and emergency response efficiency, and reducing delays on critical routes. This represents an exciting step forward in connected and smart transportation, as V2X hardware and software continue to be refined in real-world settings by UDOT and Panasonic.
Deploying V2X systems requires coordination across organizations to put the necessary hardware and software technologies in place for communication between vehicles, roadside units, and other elements of traffic operations. UDOT brainstormed different use cases for connected vehicles, including transit signal priority, snowplow preemption, and emergency vehicle support. To implement priority and preemption, they strategically selected traffic corridors and targeted fleets for deployment that had a variety of vehicle types and traffic flows.
Figure 1: V2X systems connect data inputs from vehicles, roadside signals, and other sources to create a digital ecosystem for monitoring and managing road safety.
The initial transit signal priority deployment was focused on ensuring that buses that ran along this corridor successfully kept to their timetable, with approximately 25 installed roadside units and 34 V2X-software and hardware enhanced buses that frequently drove down the selected route.
The installation allowed roadside and on-board units to receive and send messages through cloud-based software systems, effectively communicating key operational details with each other. Though the initial installation required some hardware set up, once in place, regular updates to software created a system that can be easily upgraded to adjust for further efficiencies without replacing or modifying the vehicle or infrastructure hardware.
Furthermore, V2X software ensures a secure, reliable, and fast connection to traffic systems.
Using a cloud-based approach helps UDOT and Panasonic test and maintain hardware, ensuring that most equipment outages are addressed quickly. Deployed V2X cloud-based software provides continuous monitoring to generate alerts and supply critical diagnostics for streamlined maintenance troubleshooting. This reduces the time and expense of manually assessing roadside and on-board units and helps safeguard against faulty hardware components which would otherwise degrade system results.
During deployment, each roadside or on-board unit is assigned a profile, which is linked to a cloud-based platform that monitors for issues such as GPS signal integrity, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication accuracy, or other issues that may negatively impact traffic flows. Detected issue triggers an alert, allowing maintenance teams to respond efficiently to reduce any downtime to critical infrastructure.
Cloud-based V2X software can be easily upgraded, removing the need to physically update hardware units for minor configuration changes. Scheduled software updates allow for testing, patching, enhanced security, and performance improvements. These updates can be performed remotely, further minimizing the time and cost typically associated with system management.
For example, the CIRRUS RSU Manager enables UDOT to monitor hardware statuses and track performance metrics for connected infrastructure, allowing the team to understand and resolve deployment challenges remotely and often in real time. Automated systems also resolve a range of issues without requiring any human intervention to maximize uptime and results.
Messages sent to vehicles (called MAP messages) are critical to V2X communications, providing vehicles with detailed information about surrounding road networks and infrastructure, including intersection layouts, lane configurations, traffic signal locations, and other related geographic data. This is what allows drivers to make more informed decisions improving the safety and efficiency of dynamic roadway operations.
Open-source tools are available which allow users to create these critical MAP messages for each intersection as part of the initial deployment process. CIRRUS is in the process of developing a set of cloud-hosted tools to improve these existing workflows based on project feedback from the involved stakeholders. In the future, this MAP Manager capability will allow users to build and host secure version of relevant MAP messages within the CIRRUS platform for easy creation, updates, and management of MAP files for an entire deployment.
Security is paramount in V2X communications. V2X systems rely on the seamless exchange of data between vehicles and infrastructure, and it is critical to avoid disruptions to this exchange. Therefore, V2X software and hardware deployments must always be proactive regarding comprehensive cybersecurity measures.
V2X system security involves the use of security certificates that are authenticated during every communication instance, verifying the sender’s identity and the message integrity. Only trusted sources are allowed, preventing bad actors from disrupting key messages. Real-time security standards like message signing must be built into connected vehicle deployments from inception to ensure security receives appropriate priority in project planning. Real-time monitoring of emerging threats and security functionality is critical in maintaining secure V2X deployments.
In addition to promoting healthy system outcomes, ensuring security in V2X communications promotes user trust which is key in promoting stakeholder acceptance of and support for connected vehicle deployments.
The UDOT and CIRRUS project is driving towards smarter, safer, and more efficient roads. V2X system deployments have already successfully enhanced traffic flows and emergency response efficiency. Building this deployment with a software-first focus has allowed the partnership to create a flexible system that can be improved easily and in a cost-efficient manner.
Looking forward, new V2X system deployments for use cases include improving a city’s entire public transport system, lessening traffic idling to reduce emissions, and increasing road user awareness to prevent accidents. V2X systems are already shaping the future of transportation.