Ready for the Coming WAVE? – How 5.9 GHz ITS Safety and Mobility Applications are Laying the Foundation for the Advent of Connected Vehicles

Before joining the Iteris team in late 2020, TrafficCast’s connected vehicle projects over the past several years all started the same way. We deployed roadside units (RSUs), verified their adherence to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Society of Automotive Engineers standards, and in most cases were also evaluated on our interoperability with other manufacturers’ solutions. Those projects quickly evolved into pilots to implement a variety of highly beneficial intelligent transportation system (ITS) safety and mobility applications based on the 5.9 GHz safety spectrum band.

What is WAVE?

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1609 family of standards for Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments, or WAVE, describes wireless data exchange, security, and service advertisement between vehicles and roadside devices, and those layered protocols work together to enable communication with vehicles. As such, WAVE is widely considered to be the “official” set of rules for wireless messages by connected vehicle pilot sites.

Connected vehicle technology’s promise to the traffic industry is widespread safety and mobility – and the technology delivers. For example, one freight or transit vehicle that receives a few seconds of extra green time can reduce overall stop-and-go traffic through a congested corridor during peak hours. That connected vehicle manages to pull a few more vehicles along with it to smooth out traffic flow and reduce travel times. In another example, a connected vehicle and a pedestrian with a smartphone app, such as the TravelSmart commuter-based mobile app, can nearly instantaneously exchange a traveler information message that notifies the vehicle driver of the presence of the pedestrian in the crosswalk or of a jaywalker. Both of these safety and mobility benefits are possible now and may be realized using connected vehicle deployments.

According to Statista, “in 2019, worldwide sales of connected cars with embedded telematics was estimated to have hit 28.5 million units”. Not a significant number on a global measure, but with the finalization of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules governing the use of 5.9 GHz spectrum, we may expect automakers to deploy compatible short range wireless technology in the near term, as Ford has committed to, and promptly ignite the global trend to adopt 5.9 GHz technology in vehicles.

Now is the time to ready our infrastructure, identify the roadways of our city that need performance enhancements, and start ensuring that the foundation for the coming connected vehicle “WAVE” is there to benefit our local drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

Is your agency ready for connected and automated vehicles? Contact us to learn more about Iteris’ connected and automated vehicle solutions.

Join us on the next webinar

Join us on July 15, 2021 at 9:00 AM PT for a webinar where we will walk through a real-world connected vehicle signal priority application to realize and mitigate congestion. Register now.

About the Author:

Frank Provenzano is director, product management, BlueTOAD travel time and connected vehicles at Iteris.

Connect with Frank on LinkedIn.