A vehicle control system using a time synchronized Hybrid VANET to reduce road accidents caused by human error

With the continuous growth of the automotive market, road safety is becoming a popular area of research. The demand for road safety with respect to both drivers and the pedestrians has been a focus area in the last few years. Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) have been the key technology under research due to its numerous application possibilities related to road safety. A study on road accidents points out to human error as the cause of more than 90% of the accidents. The main reason for human error is the limited information processing ability of humans which in turn leads to increased reaction time in unexpected situations. The history of traffic accident cases has repeatedly shown clear dependencies between the accident and the reaction time of the pedestrian or driver. In such situations, a machine intervention would prove to be an effective alternative. Here a solution is provided by developing a pilot model of a fully automated Time Synchronized Hybrid (TSH) Vehicle Control System. The system is designed using a hybrid VANET that includes a pedestrian body unit. The signals from the pedestrian unit are passed on to the vehicular nodes via the VANET. It is received by the vehicular unit and is given as an input to the TSH vehicle control system. The TSH vehicle control system uses this information and checks the chances of an accident occurring. It then gives a control signal to the automated braking system to choose an appropriate response like braking or deceleration. This system was mathematically evaluated and simulated. Different experiments were carried out to check out how far the system is able to avoid accidents. It was seen that accidents could be avoided in very higher car speeds when the vehicle control system takes over, as opposed to when driven with manual vehicle control. The system clearly outperforms the existing safety models that rely on the reaction of the drivers or pedestrians.