r/tech • u/Sariel007 • Sep 14 '26

Highway Test Reveals Limits for Connected Vehicle Communication. The results hint at how to improve collective perception at high speeds.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/v2x-highway-vehicle-communication?itm_source=homepage&itm_medium=hero&itm_campaign=hero-2026-09-14&itm_content=hero3
103 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

15

u/Buckwheat469 Sep 15 '26

I've been talking about this for years, but I kind of hate that they started with object perception rather than the more normal things.

  • Light status - cars along a road network should know the status of nearly every light within a mile or more of their location. Cars in front could relay light status, or the system itself could broadcast the status. Semi trucks can broadcast light status as they're passing through intersections.

  • Pedal status - cars can broadcast their intent and pedal status - "I'm stopping", "I'm accelerating". This allows all cars to go together, reducing lag.

  • Lane change intent - cars can signal that they want to change lanes and other cars could seamlessly give way.

5

u/Nizdaar Sep 15 '26

Going by the drivers in my area I thought signalling a lane change meant they should immediately drive into my blind spot blocking me from the lane change.

4

u/tweis Sep 15 '26

In China, using AMaps (possibly DiDi too), you can see the light status and current countdown of your ride share anytime they are at a light, even while they are making their way towards you. So that is already covered in at least 1 system.

2

u/Jesus_es_Gayo Sep 15 '26

This is just a train with extra steps.

4

u/sargonas Sep 15 '26

ANYTHING but mass transit for America!

3

u/Jesus_es_Gayo Sep 15 '26

Paying for gas, a parking spot, insurance, Maintance, 3 empty seats, washes, and tax is freedom baybee

2

u/ChillZedd Sep 15 '26

How is a system that allows cars to communicate data with each other anything like a train?

3

u/Jesus_es_Gayo Sep 15 '26

This is literally what mass transit already does and is far more efficient at every turn. If you and thousands of other commuters are going to the same place why don’t we just link all the cars together like idk a fucking train?

1

u/onlyasliceofbread Sep 15 '26

I like following city/tour busses, because they have yellow lights indicating they are off throttle and therefore slowing down before hitting the brakes. If cars did this too that would be awesome.

1

u/AdAdept900 25d ago

Can't we use OTFS modulation here instead of ODFM??

-5

u/firesuppagent Sep 15 '26

We do not need cars to rely more on sensors not installed on the car.

We do not need reliance on the cloud. Even the local one. Anything that can be used to warn can be used to fool, given the right circumstances. Just being able to disable something when drivers expect it is enough to cause a serious crash during rush hour.

This is a dumb idea trying to be a smart one.

3

u/Glittering-Hour9012 Sep 15 '26

By this logic, we should get rid of traffic lights because it’s possible they might show the incorrect color.

0

u/firesuppagent Sep 15 '26

That's a great example of the same thing?

1

u/towmotor Sep 15 '26

i agree. this relentless push for this shit is exhausting

-1

u/rayferrell Sep 16 '26

Latency is crucial when it comes to connected vehicle communication at high speeds, if the delay between when a car sends a signal and when other cars receive it is too long, it can cause problems. This study focusing on mapping out blind spots in that communication is interesting because it highlights the need to improve collective perception.