Cohda

Cohda Wireless Announcement

Global connected vehicle technology leader Cohda Wireless announced on Friday that they have been chosen by Delphi to supply the complete Software Stacks for GM’s launch of V2X in the MY17 Cadillac CTS. This follows Cohda’s September 23rd press release welcoming the news that General Motors’ first intelligent ‘connected car’ is due off the production lines within the next two years.

DelphiDelphi Automotive PLC, a company that will supply GM with connectivity technology to let cars “talk” with one another and provide drivers with critical safety information, uses Cohda’s safety applications software.

GMEarlier this month, General Motors CEO Mary Barra revealed at the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) World Congress in Detroit that Cadillac would build GM’s first V2V-equipped car in the 2017 Cadillac CTS in about two years. “We believe the CTS will be one of the most, if not the most, intelligent and connected production vehicles on the road,” said Ms. Barra. “It will talk to other V2V-equipped cars to avoid crashes; it will talk to V2I-equipped infrastructure to reduce congestion; and it’s 4G LTE connection and active safety features will give drivers piece of mind.”

The global car industry is actively embracing both Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) implementations of connected car technology, which are collectively referred to as V2X.

One driver for this adoption in the US is a recent US Department of Transportation report containing preliminary estimates that the safety benefits of V2V safety applications such as Left Turn Assist (LTA) and Intersection Movement Assist (IMA) could prevent as many as 592,000 crashes and save 1083 lives per year.

Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray said General Motors’ announcement was an important milestone in the development of the V2X market. “Using Cohda’s software, Delphi will be first to market with V2V and V2I communication technology that significantly advances driver safety,” he said.

“Cohda is supplying the complete software stack for Delphi, comprising 10 safety apps including LTA and IMA, which the US Department of Transportation identifies as life-saving apps.

“The recent announcements by GM and Delphi move Cohda from the trial phase to the production stage in the market development of V2X technology.”

Delphi’s wireless vehicle communication technology extends the range of existing advanced driver assistance systems functionality. Radio signals transmit traffic data from car-to-car to alert drivers of potential road hazards; even those beyond the driver’s line of sight or out of the vehicle’s sensor range. This technology can signal to the driver a number of traffic situations ahead including road condition hazards, road work, emergency vehicle warning, stationary or slow-moving vehicles, traffic jams, accidents, as well as traffic signals or signage indicators.

“The ability to detect and signal to the driver of danger ahead is a significant leap toward improving driver safety and traffic management,” said Jeff Owens, chief technology officer, Delphi Automotive.

Patrick Brunett, Sales Director and General Manager of Cohda Wireless America shared, “We are really excited about this partnership. However, it’s going to be up to GM to announce what applications they are going to deploy with and they will announce that when they are ready. We are working closely with Delphi to integrate our software stacks including the network, facilities and application layers.

“The key thing is that this is the first deployment to be announced. This has certainly generated a lot of interest. We are getting more inquiries from car manufacturers and Tier Ones and expect to see more RFQs soon.  Key suppliers are interested in knowing more about the technology and how it applies to them. Not so long ago manufacturers had been moving fairly slowly but something like this helps propel them to ramp up their V2X activities.”

Mr. Brunett concludes, “With the USDOT working on proposed rule making, the assumption was that carmakers would wait for that before getting in more deeply, but GM’s announcement in advance of that has caused a shift. The other car makers are beginning to think about doing something sooner. This is shaking up the market. The biggest impact is getting the other car manufacturers to take some action.”

This announcement seems to be another marker along the mile moving us closer to a connected driverless reality.