Electronics company Bosch is partnering with Shimano, Trek and several other bicycle companies as well as automaker Audi in a new lobby group pushing for proximity beacons spottable by cars equipped with sensors. This V2X communication technology—similar chipset technology is already deployed in static street furniture around the world— has been trialled by many automotive and bicycle brands in recent years.
“The roadmap to help save lives is clear and Audi’s commitment to deploying C-V2X connectivity is an investment in the future of our transportation ecosystem,” said Brad Stertz, Director of Audi Government Affairs. “Our participation in the Coalition for Cyclist Safety will help accelerate that objective.”
This states that the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, along with the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office and the Federal Highway Administration, will “expand vehicle-to-pedestrian research efforts focused on incorporating bicyclists and other vulnerable road users into the safe deployment of connected vehicle systems.”
The World Bicycle Industry Association is in favor of such beaconization, with general manager Manuel Marsilio telling attendees at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show’s Future Networked Car symposium that “bicycles will definitely have to communicate with other vehicles.” “We know from research that detecting cyclists is one of the hardest things that autonomous vehicle developers have had to face. Beacons may increase the risk for cyclists because, if they give drivers the message that the car is watching out for cyclists, but the car is actually not doing that particularly well, then we make the situation for cyclists more dangerous.
If the beacon always needed to be on the person, logically, that means it would have to be embedded in the body: are we ready for chipping all humans?the ITS World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services held at the CCH Congress Center in Hamburg, northern Germany on October 13, 2021. - The congress takes place until October 15, 2021.