SAFETRIP - Satellite application for emergency handling, traffic alerts, road safety and incident prevention
Overview
Background & policy context:
In the past decade a lot of research has been dedicated to develop driver assistance systems based on autonomous sensor technologies that are able to perceive the traffic situation surrounding the vehicle and, in case of danger, to properly warn the driver. Moreover, a lot of research has been dedicated to improve the quality of the infrastructure, giving weight to “an intelligent road infrastructure” concept.
The SafeTRIP project "added value" is to seek the "combination" of the information from vehicles and from the infrastructure to users, taking benefits from a new satellite technology, and adopting an original holistic approach "infrastructure / vehicle / drivers", where all of these actors have a key role to play in the safety chain.
Objectives:
The general objective of SAFETRIP is to improve the use of road transport infrastructures and to improve the alert chain (information / prevention / intervention) in case of incidents by offering an integrated system from data collection to transport safety service provision. SAFETRIP directly contributes to the achievement of the EC objectives regarding road transport safety, road mortality reduction and environment protection.
Methodology:
SAFETRIP benefits from a new satellite technology: the S-band supported by the W2A satellite that was launched in April 2009. Opening new perspectives for European telecommunications, the S-band transmitter is optimized for content delivery and two-way communications for on-board vehicles units interoperable with Galileo and UMTS systems. This new satellite technology gives the opportunity to progress beyond the state of art allowing communicating in both directions with mobile units (down link and up link). It presents determinant advantages, including global and full coverage on the European scale, multicast data transmission, quick and easy deployment, ecologic energy as the satellite operates through solar panels.
Low price on-board-units (GREENBOX receiver) will be installed in vehicles to provide personalised services: emergency calls and messages, traffic alerts, incident / accident warning, speed alert, floating car data, vehicle monitoring, vehicle tracking and tracing, eco driving monitoring, driver behaviour monitoring, etc. These customer-oriented applications dedicated to cars drivers & passengers, buses / coaches drivers & passengers and road operators will be tested in the field, by French and Spanish road operators and road users. SAFETRIP is probably one of the most innovative projects of the last decades due to its holistic approach integrating: infrastructure / vehicle / drivers. Within the SAFETRIP consortium, transportation actors and services providers will work together to predict road conditions.
The concept of the SAFETRIP project is:
- to provide an integrated system platform that will allow any third party company to develop applications for the road market;
- to promote innovative satellite technologies and communication features:
- accurate satellite positioning (GPS / EGNOS / GALILEO);
- 2-way data communication via satellite;
- digital radio broadcast via satellite in the new S-band;
- to integrate in vehicles a device called “Greenbox” offering a universal two-way communication system:
- providing two-way real-time IP data connectivity for the emergency and disaster recovery situations;
- receiving IP multicast data, video and audio streams;
- exchanging non real-time IP data packets at few KBPS information rate;
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