Ford looks to Russian space robots

The so-called ‘connected car’ is the next big thing in automotive progress, or one among many next big things, anyway.

The term refers to the broadening of the convergence between computing and communications that started in the 1990s and solidified in the 2000s to take transport systems into its embrace.

It’s a huge undertaking that opens up even huger possibilities, starting with cars using direct (car-to-car) and indirect (via mobile phone networks, etc) to warn each other of congestion and hazards ahead.

The logical culmination of such a technological progression is the totally driverless vehicle – one able to talk to other cars, traffic infrastructure, buildings, the cloud, etc.

In other words, it has the potential to turn cars effectively into robots.

Where better to look for experience and data on such matters, then, than outer space, where we already make plenty of use of robotics in the remote control of vehicles and devices? The space industry is, after all, already using well developed long- and short-distance telematics.

That’s why Ford has embarked on a three-year research project with St Petersburg Polytechnic University in Russia to gather data about the ways in robotic devices on the International Space Station talk to their masters back here on Earth.

The company expects the space robots study will serve up valuable data about how to develop telematics networks that are reliable, robust and accurate enough for traffic management systems to help minimise traffic accidents, cut congestion and improve emergency services response through car-to-X systems taking in other vehicles, infrastructure, the cloud and beyond.

According to Ford’s statement, the two have embarked on the project “to analyse space-based robotic communications systems for vehicle mesh networks to aid in mobility solutions”. The aim is “to improve the reliability of connected vehicle communications and aid in the advancement of emergency vehicle communication methods”.

Communications protocols – the languages through which devices talk to each other – are the critical element in any such network. A little hiccup in the way devices connect and exchange data packets can take its toll in life, limb, years of effort wasted and hundreds of millions of dollars.

One important aspect of the project lies the technology’s potential to improve emergency response. It’s expected to provide important clues to how to bolster redundancy and failsafe systems to avert problems that might arise with normal network failures. There’s considerable potential here for such a network to convey messages via multiple paths.

“The research of fallback options and robust message networks is important,” said Oleg Gusikhin, Ford’s technical leader in systems analytics, said in the statement. “If one network is down, alternatives need to be identified and strengthened to reliably propagate messages between networks.”

The statement gives an example: “If an accident were to cause vehicle-to-cloud communications (V2C) to be broken, a vehicle may still have access to a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications network. An emergency signal message could potentially be sent through V2V to a vehicle nearby, and then between vehicles and infrastructures until it reached EMS.”

Ford has been working on connected vehicle communications technologies for over a decade. “Our participation in this research can aid in the development of next-generation Ford driver-assist technologies,” said Paul Mascarenas, Ford’s Chief Technical Officer and VP of Research and Innovation, said in a statement.

“These technologies will globally benefit Ford customers, other road users and the environment.”

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...

Don't forget to register to comment on this article.