Keeping drivers safe and the traffic flowing

Andy Bird, Managing Director, GTT Wireless

With the world becoming more reliant on increasingly complex and interconnected technology, Danlaw is leading the way in designing, building, testing and connecting safer, smarter and more secure intelligent transport systems.

Danlaw is a global leader in connected car and automotive electronics, and its experience in intelligent transportation systems is huge. The company has been working with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) on multiple smart highway and connected vehicle projects. The Danlaw RouteLink Roadside Unit (RSU) is now a core component in several connected vehicle programmes aimed at improving safety and reducing congestion in urban environments.

Partner to the U.S. Department of Transportation

Danlaw is one of the biggest suppliers of Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) hardware and software in the United States, supporting multiple smart vehicle initiatives.

In 2015 Danlaw was awarded a grant by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to develop the Next Stage Certification Environment for connected vehicle technology. The program aimed to accelerate the certification and testing necessary to ensure interoperability for devices implementing the connected vehicle system using the DSRC standard, IEEE 802.11p. Danlaw was awarded the grant based on its unique blend of extensive automotive industry experience and vehicle telematics solutions and services.

Lifesaving use cases lead the way

RouteLink facilitates communication with roadside infrastructure, such as traffic signals or crosswalks. The device identifies potential threats and uses DSRC to transmit critical safety messages to vehicles equipped with onboard units (OBUs). The driver of the vehicle will receive audio or visual alerts for various vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) events, such as a red-light violation warning, road condition updates, or curve speed warnings.

One of the key pilots Danlaw is currently progressing is traffic signal pre-emption for emergency vehicles. RSUs at traffic intersections communicate with an OBU on emergency service vehicles to allow quick and safe passage on a determined route. Early trials have been highly successful – Danlaw has already received a letter from one U.S. fire chief attributing traffic signal pre-emption as a key factor in saving a woman’s life in an emergency situation.

Mission-critical deployments, harsh environments

One of the crucial components of these intelligent transport deployments is effective connectivity between RSUs and OBUs. An RSU is a DSRC transceiver that is mounted along a road or pedestrian passageway while the OBU is mounted on a connected vehicle. A driver of a connected car may pass hundreds of RSUs on a typical journey, and communication failure between these could compromise the safety of both the driver and other road users. This mission-critical application, combined with the potential environmental pressures on each RSU, meant the choice of communication antenna was crucial for Danlaw.

Compliance with the new RSU 4.1 specification ensures that the Danlaw RSU will survive the harshest of roadside conditions such as extreme temperatures, vibrations, rain, wind, salt spray and more.

Roadside assistance from GTT Wireless

After realising in-house manufacture was not an option, Danlaw assessed the market for a suitable antenna for its RSUs. After a comprehensive review, the Danlaw team selected a DSRC Antenna from GTT Wireless. GTT Wireless antennas are IP67 rated, UV resistant and incorporate weatherproof N-type plugs to ensure antenna installation does not introduce hardware vulnerability to harsh conditions.

Having researched all available options, we quickly realised GTT Wireless had everything we needed to balance constant connectivity with price and design,” said Andrew Donaldson, Connected Vehicle Program Manager at Danlaw. The GTT Wireless DSRC Antenna was unbeatable, it survived hostile and rigorous third-party testing and its Plug and Play design made it easy to deploy on a large scale.

Relying on solid connectivity for future deployments

Going forward we will certainly be keeping GTT Wireless in mind as we press ahead with future intelligent transport projects, continued Donaldson. With research showing the installed base of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) equipped vehicles will reach six million by 2022, our focus will be on harnessing the potential of 5G connectivity in Cellular-V2X technology to enable improved automotive safety, automated driving and traffic efficiency.

To find out more about the GTT Wireless rugged antennas used for intelligent transport systems, click here. You can learn more about the Danlaw product range by clicking here.