Mercedes plans traffic alert system

Mercedes Benz is all set to introduce a technology that would enable communication between two cars and also between driver and manufacturer, a top official of the German Luxury car maker said. "You get more and more connectivity between cars as well as between manufacturer and driver. We are developing an integrated system called 'My Mercedes'. This system gives all participants using an automobile a possibility to communicate (with one another).

"There will be more and more communications coming up," Eberhard H Kern, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India said during his recent visit here. Kern added that their R&D centre in Bangalore would play a key role in developing the technology. According to a press release issued earlier this month by the company, each vehicle will be fitted with Car-to-X communication and it can transmit information on dangers to other road users and therefore contribute to enhancing the road safety.

Mercedes Benz passenger cars are able to detect many of these dangers automatically and without the driver being required to take any action. For dangers which are not detected automatically, an efficient manual notification option has been created. At the press of a button, immobile vehicles or animals on the road, wrong-way drivers or shed loads can be notified via the Mercedes Cloud.

This then sends a warning message to all vehicles fitted with Car-to-X technology which are in the vicinity of the hazardous location. "I can't tell you the exact date when it is going to come.

But we can expect it in near future. There is a lot of development going on and the Mercedes Benz research and development centre in Bangalore has a big stake in it."

"We have more than 1,200 developers (in the R&D Centre) and it is the biggest development of Mercedes Benz outside Germany," Kern said when asked about the possible implementation of this technology in India.

The technology will enable the exchange of information between individual vehicles as well as between vehicles and the traffic infrastructure.

Through the use of Car-to-X communication, information on potential road traffic dangers can be passed on to drivers at an early stage so that they can take appropriate action and even help avoiding critical situations arising in the first place.

"When warning messages are issued in the vicinity of the vehicle, from example by an emergency services vehicle or a broken down vehicle, the driver receives a warning in advance in good time and the hazardous location is marked on the map. "With this information he has the option of adjusting his driving style and speed in such a way that a dangerous situation does not even arise in the first place," the release said.

The driver can also be warned at an early stage about wrong-way drivers or dangerous weather conditions, it added. Mercedes-Benz presently has incorporated 'Intelligent Assistance System', which highlights the technological enhancement that the new E-Class embodies and makes driving extremely convenient, enjoyable and safe.