Session A12
Paper #6142
Disclaimer — This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper
is based on publicly available information and may not be provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is
used for any purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman)
engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own
risk.
VEHICLE-TO-VEHICLE COMMUNICATION IN DRIVERLESS CARS VIA
WIRELESS LAN TECHNOLOGY
Alec Cantor, apc47@pitt.edu, Mahboobin 10:00, Alex Blackson, arb171@pitt.edu, Mahboobin 10:00
Revised
Proposal
—
Vehicle-to-vehicle
(V2V)
communication is an emerging, promising technology in the
field of wireless communication that allows for the
development of driverless vehicles. According to an article by
researcher Lawrie Jones, these vehicles would carry
transmitters and receivers to simultaneously broadcast and
collect relevant data —speed, direction, position of the
steering wheel, etc. — over a wide, specified radius [1]. In
doing so, all vehicles in the area equipped with this
technology could create a local map of other vehicles’
position and velocity. By determining the exact location of
surrounding vehicles, even when they are not visible, the cars
could avoid a potential blind collision.
After researching this technology, we have found that
commonly used wireless LAN technology, or Wi-Fi, could
offer a safe method for V2V communication. Each car would
contain what is akin to a router that transmits data on an
encrypted channel. Additionally, the vehicles would be
equipped with a computer system capable of receiving a
wireless signal and analyze the data transferred. The Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a computer
and electrical engineering society, has recommended that
auto manufacturers use a 5.9 GHz bandwidth to transmit data
[2]. This is the same bandwidth as home Wi-Fi, so companies
require further research to understand how information will
travel outside at high speeds.
As described by Professor Keith Goffin, operating solely on
computerized control, driverless vehicles could operate in a
manner that limits gas consumption and exhaust, adding a
level of environmental friendliness [3]. Since almost anyone
can use these vehicles, including the disabled and elderly,
automotive companies widen their audiences and, as a result,
increase their profits. In the process, a significant portion of
the population gain the ability to travel, advancing society as
a whole. Autonomous vehicles have luxury factors that could
attract consumers as well, such as providing inebriated,
distracted, or fatigued drivers the choice to shift control to
their car. With the potential benefits of driverless cars in
mind, developing safe, responsive V2V technology will bring
society closer to unlocking these benefits.
University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering 1
2016/01/29
Although our research in V2V communication is still
preliminary, we have already consulted a variety of
academic, peer-reviewed journals and resources that discuss
the technology, ethics, and importance of our topic to
consumers. For instance, we plan to study scholarly magazine
Engineering & Technology that contains the current
advancements made by companies like Google and General
Motors in driverless cars. After finding more, credible
sources, we hope to open our paper with an introduction to
driverless cars and V2V technology, followed by an address
to its applications and benefits. From there, we plan to
discuss the ethical concerns of driverless cars and apply the
technology to engineers in practice. Finally, we wish to
capitalize on the necessity for wireless LAN in V2V
communication in effort to convince the conference
adjudicators to pursue the field further.
REFERENCES
[1] L. Jones. (2015, October 1). “Are We Ready To Hand
Over the Steering Wheel.” Engineering & Technology.
(online article). Vol 10, no. 9. pp.32-36.
[2] M. Nilsson, P. Hallbjoerner, N. Arabaeck, B. Bergqvist.
(2015, December). “Measurement Uncertainty, Channel
Simulation, and Disturbance Characterization of an Over-theAir Multiprobe Setup for Cars at 5.9 GHz”. Industrial
Electronics. (online article). Vol 62, no. 12.
[3] K. Goffin. (2013, November 1). “A Future with Driverless
Cars is One to Look Forward to and Embrace.” Engineering
& Technology. (online article). Vol. 8, no. 10. pp.28.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
K. Goffin. (2013, November 1). “A Future with Driverless
Cars is One to Look Forward to and Embrace.” Engineering
& Technology. (online article). Vol. 8, no. 10. pp.28.
This article, found in the popular technical magazine
Engineering & Technology, details some of the potential
advantages autonomous vehicles have over current forms of
transportation. Written by Keith Goffin, a professor of
innovation at the Cranfield School of Management, this
Alec Cantor
Alex Blackson
article supports the innovative technology by describing its
practical and environmental benefits and applying them to the
current world state. In our paper, this will allow us to argue
for the development of a safe form of V2V communication to
help realize these benefits.
hit a wall or the bystander. While writing from an unbiased
standpoint, he raises interesting points that will be the cause
of debate in the future of the technology. We will use this
article to discuss the ethical decisions in driverless cars.
M. Nilsson, P. Hallbjoerner, N. Arabaeck, B. Bergqvist.
(2015, December). “Measurement Uncertainty, Channel
Simulation, and Disturbance Characterization of an Over-theAir Multiprobe Setup for Cars at 5.9 GHz”. Industrial
Electronics. (online article). Vol 62, no. 12.
This is a technical article from a magazine called
Industrial Electronics from IEEE. The authors explore the
specifics of how the V2V technology works. They delve into
the bandwidth the cars use to broadcast. In addition, they
discuss how such signals would be affected when a vehicle is
moving at high speeds. We are going to use this article to
further our reader's understanding of how V2V technology
works.
L. Jones. (2015, October 1). “Are We Ready To Hand Over
the Steering Wheel.” Engineering & Technology. (online
article). Vol 10, no. 9. pp.32-36.
This article is from Engineering & Technology magazine
and it addresses some of the concerns in attempting to
implement driverless cars into society. The author, Lawrie
Jones, discusses from a fairly neutral standpoint how current
laws in the UK and most of the world make it difficult to test
automated cars, which in turns makes them even more
difficult to be safe for consumer use. He also discusses the
impact driverless cars will have on society, as a whole. We
can use this article to address some of the ethical and legal
concerns that driverless cars bring.
J. Sanguesa, J. Barrachina, M. Fogue. (2015, December 15).
“Sensing Traffic Density Combining V2V and V2I Wireless
Communications.” US National Library of Medicine National
Institutes of Health. (online article).
This article is technical article about the applications of
V2V technology. The authors write, from a non-biased
perspective, about applying V2V technology to make the
roads safer by predicting traffic densities. They also introduce
V2I, which is vehicle to infrastructure communication. This
will help build a better map of a densely populated area,
making them safer to drive in. We will use this article to
discuss the technical aspects and applications of V2V
communications.
K. Kirkpatrick. (2015, August 1). “The Moral Challenges of
Driverless Cars.” Communications of the Association of
Computing Machinery. (online article). Vol. 58, no. 8. pp. 1920.
Published by the Association of Computing Machinery,
this article addresses some of the ethical concerns of
driverless cars. Taking a neutral approach to the idea, author
Keith Kirkpatrick emphasizes the multitude of complications
autonomous vehicles must overcome to reach the road. Later
in the article, he concedes to the advanced implementation of
automation in cars already in practice. We can use this article
to further support why continued progress in the field is
necessary.
M. Smith. (2014, September 12). “How Cars Will One Day
Talk to Each Other.” MakeUseOf. (online article).
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cars-will-one-day-talk/
This article published on MakeUseOf, a website where
experts discuss latest technological advances, outlines the
communication systems of autonomous vehicles. In which,
the author tells of how V2V developments could create a
network of cars constantly transmitting data to build a safe,
effective transportation system. Citing current manufacturers
and the history of the technology, the author offers his support
for the use of wireless LAN in cars, which we can integrate
into our technical description of our topic.
V. Milanés, E. Onieva, J. Pérez, J. Gordy, J. Villagrá. (2011,
October). “An Approach to Driverless Vehicles in
Highways.” 2011 14th International IEEE Conference on
Intelligent Transportation Systems. (conference article).
This article presented at an IEEE Conference in 2011
discusses the technical aspects required for autonomous cars
to be a safe travel method. While also addressing the physics
of the cars, the authors of this proposal identify how V2V
communication can potentially make a map of surroundings
and adjust the mechanics to adapt to the environment. In our
conference paper, we plan to reference this source to lay out
the inner-workings of the V2V communications we hope to
promote.
SOURCES CONSULTED
D. Newcomb. (2014, October 1). “Who Should Be the SelfDriving Car’s Moral Compass?” PC Magazine. (online
article).
In this article, the author, Doug Newcomb, provides
insight into the ethical dilemmas that arise when driving a car.
He discuss whether or not cars should be programmed to save
the driver or a pedestrian in a case where the driver must either
“How to Pick a Topic.” University of Pittsburgh University
Library System. (2014). (video).
TOPIC AREA: COMPUTER ENGINEERING
2
Alec Cantor
Alex Blackson
For this topic, we hope to apply how wireless LAN signals
to the up-and-coming technology of autonomous vehicles. As
such, we are not focusing on the mobile functions of the
vehicles, but rather, how the signals work to increase the
reliability and functionality of the car. For that reason, we
believe that our paper best fits into the category of computer
engineering. Using the V2V communication, the vehicles use
computing systems to send, receive, and interpret the data
between vehicles.
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