Opel, GM to Demonstrate Car-2-Car Communication

Car-to-car communication services tend to become must haves in today's vehicles as both car and motorcycle manufacturers rely on this type of technologies in order to prevent or minimize the consequences of accidents. Basically, a car-to-car communication service collects and exchanges information related to potential dangers on the road, allowing alerted drivers to reduce speed and avoid accidents.

Opel and General Motors announced that a similar service will be demonstrated at the GM Dudenhofen Test Center in Germany but the two companies did not mention if the new service could reach mass-production models in the near future.

“Driving is a very complex task. Knowing where the other guy is and where he’s headed can be as critical as being in control of your own vehicle. With C2C technology, we intensify the driver’s awareness of his environment to improve road safety, without any distraction to him and certainly without reducing his level of control. This sixth sense lets drivers know what’s going on around them to help avoid accidents and improve traffic flow,” said Hans-Georg Frischkorn, Executive Director, Global Electrical Systems, Controls and Software.

Compared to other car manufacturers with car-to-car services for their own models, GM and Opel are willing to make their own product available to as many classes as possible, Hans-Georg Frischkorn stated.

“GM/Opel has always been committed to democratizing innovations. Our C2C systems are affordable and could potentially be used in every vehicle class. That’s especially important because cooperative systems like these become more effective when many vehicles are equipped with them.”

GM's car-to-car communication service is, just like the other similar products, based on standard hardware components, including microprocessors, GPS receivers and wireless LAN modules which exchange information in a range of a few hundred meters.