Standards Development in the New Vehicle Communications Environment

The new vehicle connectivity model focuses on data communications and vehicle safety applications, as opposed to the traditional telematics model, which emphasizes entertainment- and revenue-centered applications. As a result, telematics is moving toward becoming a basic safety service offered by vehicle manufacturers. In this new vehicle communications environment, safety information must be shared among all equipped vehicles. To make shared safety communications possible, standards are needed to support communications technologies, probe processing, and long-term communications-enabled safety applications. This paper will discuss the new vehicle connectivity model and the standards activities needed to support its emphasis on safety.