What is Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) and how does this affect your future driving experience?
DSRC is a technology this is currently being developed and tested to improve highway safety throughout North America and other parts of the world. This technology is targeted at providing in-vehicle signage, collision avoidance, fee collection, internet access and a whole host of other features in a secure and privacy-conscious manner. This technology will provide vehicle-to-vehicle communications as well as vehicle-to-roadside communications. In the case of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, safety is improved when an emergency vehicle such as police, ambulance or fire can communicate directly with your vehicle guiding you out of the way when a radio is too loud preventing you from responding to an audible siren. In the case of vehicle-to-roadside communications, your vehicle can be automatically informed of an accident ahead just beyond a hill or curved roadway. Your vehicle is provided with advanced warning signals indicating roadway hazards.
DSRC will use RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology similar to that used by automatic highway toll systems using transponders. DSRC Transponders will be factory installed in all vehicles manufactured at the time of full implementation. The year 2010 will see the beginning of this technology in use in various locations within the United States. The companies involved in the development of this technology are the largest providers of RFID Transponders and Readers in the U.S. and Canada. Four companies have been selected to develop and test this technology for the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Department of Defence. Raytheon, Mark IV, Sirit & TransCore will jointly develop and test this technology. Of these four companies, Sirit's home is in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Sirit designs, develops, manufacturers and provides readers and transponders to the State of California and Colorado along with a new traffic density system in the State of Florida.
For more information on DSRC or Sirit Technologies please visit the Sirit site at http://www.sirit.com
