A Kitchener, Ont. based company is rolling out technology that allows vehicles and traffic signals to communicate, with the goal of making commutes safer, easier and less stressful. Miovision’s vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, technology sends real-time traffic signal information to a connected vehicle’s dashboard. The concept of a traffic light is simple: red means stop, yellow means slow and green means go. But Miovision’s system is designed to give drivers more information about what’s coming next. During a test drive through Kitchener with CTV News, the system displayed a traffic light icon on the vehicle’s dashboard, including a countdown to when the light would turn green. It can also recommend a speed to help drivers catch a series of green lights, or tell them when it’s time to slow down. “What we have basically now done, I would say, is the first in the industry to provide a service or a data flow back from the signal to the car,” said Thomas Bauer, vice-president of V2X at Miovision. The technology is also designed to help drivers navigate what is known as a “dilemma zone” — the moment when a driver must decide whether to continue through an intersection. “We basically now provide an advisory help to the driver to assist them through that process,” Bauer said. The system could be particularly useful for large commercial vehicles, he said. “Imagine you have 80,000 lbs under you. You cannot simply stop,” Bauer said. Miovision’s technology does not change the traffic lights themselves. Instead, it takes information from traffic signals and sends it to vehicles over cellular networks. Its V2X technology covers more than 70,000 intersections in eight countries, including Canada. “Region of Waterloo, Kitchener now we have 90 per cent of the traffic signals here in service,” he said. V2X is currently being built into production vehicles from the Volkswagen Group, with Audi serving as its launch customer. The technology can also be delivered through apps, although Bauer said having it integrated directly into a vehicle creates a different experience for drivers. For now, Miovision says one of the biggest benefits of the technology is simple. “It’s basically convenience. Less stress,” Bauer said. The company hopes connected vehicles and traffic infrastructure will eventually make driving feel less like a series of stops and more like one continuous trip.
