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UCLA would like Cars to serve as a Mobile Communications Network |
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Written by Administrator
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 UCLA computer science professor Mario Gerla and researcher Giovanni Pau at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, are working on a research project make cars as wireless sensor nodes in a mobile network on wheels. Their is idea is to add relatively low-cost sensors to the vehicle’s roof and bumpers. Thus it creates a Vehicular Sensor Network (VSN).
 "We have all of these computer devices as integrated systems inside our cars," Gerla said. "It's time to extend that concept. Computers are already being installed in many vehicles, and wireless capability will soon follow, so a mobile network deployment would only require the relatively low-cost addition of sensors to the vehicle's roof and bumpers and configuring the computer with new 'mobile' applications." The researchers further say that their mobile ad-hoc networking platform (MANET) would allow ‘moving vehicles within a range of 100 to 300 meters of each other to connect and create a network of cars.’ Of course, not every driver would like to be part of this network because of privacy concerns. This is why ‘the first mobile networks will be implemented in emergency response vehicles such as police cars, ambulances and hazardous materials response units.’
The benefits of this type of network are broad, Gerla said. Day-to-day driving could be safer and more convenient — on crowded freeways in Southern California, accidents could be prevented if drivers have access to pertinent, real-time information about collisions or changes in traffic patterns ahead.
Read the UCLA presse release here |
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