CAR-2-X Communication for Safety and Infotainment in Europe Dr. Andreas Festag, Roberto Baldessari, Dr. Wenhui Zhang Dr. Long Le, Amardeo Sarma, Masatoshi Fukukawa Abstract Vehicular communication based on short-range wireless technology opens up novel applications improving road safety and travel comfort. Ad hoc networking enables a direct communication among cars as well as between cars and road-side communication devices. Geocast is an ad hoc routing scheme which is specifically considered in Eu- rope as a core networking concept for future CAR-2-X systems. It provides wireless multi-hop communication and allows for geographical addressing and routing. This paper describes advanced concepts and mechanisms to de- ploy Geocast in realistic environments and presents NEC’s CAR-2-X platform. Keywords short-range wireless technology, car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication, ad hoc networking, Geocast, multi-hop communication, IEEE 802.11, CAR-2-X communication, CAR-2-X platform, C2C-CC 1. Introduction Among the emerging wireless technologies used by drivers and passengers, short-range wireless communication based on IEEE 802.11 has received considerable attention worldwide. Due to its low costs, availability and wide deployment, it is expected that future cars will be equipped with on-board units offering IEEE 802.11 wireless interfaces and antennas. The wireless technology enables a fully distributed vehicular com- munication network based on self-organization and self-coor- dination of the network nodes which is commonly referred to as ad hoc networking. The combination of both short-range wireless technology and ad hoc networking facilitates car-to- car and car-to-infrastructure communication - subsumed un- der CAR-2-X. CAR-2-X communication is regarded as a cornerstone of future Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) ( Fig. 1 ). A major goal of CAR-2-X and ITS is the improvement of road safety and sustainable reduction of fatalities due to road acci- dents 1) . Moreover, CAR-2-X communication enables vari- ous applications to improve traffic efficiency and infotain- ment, where dedicated frequencies will be allocated for safety and traffic efficiency (see Fig. 2 4) for the considered frequen- cy allocation in Europe). Due to the wide range of opportuni- ties, a strong and common interest from public, governments, and industry to develop, standardize and deploy CAR-2-X communication technology exists. Applications and peculiarities of the vehicular communica- tion environment put specific requirements on networking. In Fig. 1 Car-2-X communication scenario. Fig. 2 Proposed spectrum allocation for safety and traffic efficien- cy applications in Europe. NEC TECHNICAL JOURNAL Vol.3 No.1/2008 ------- 21 Safety and Security