GM developing Wi-Fi pedestrian detection system

Ever so often drivers have to bring their cars to a screeching halt thanks to some jaywalker sprinting across the road without regard for traffic. What if there was a way a vehicle could warn drivers about a pedestrian about to walk into their path? This is exactly what GM’s new Wi-Fi direct system aims to do. 

General Motors is developing a technology that focuses on safety of road users equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity to avert crashes altogether. Most smartphones today are equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity, and GM’s new app could warn two or more parties on a collision course.

GM aims to equip its cars with a Wi-Fi Direct system that will detect Wi-Fi devices such as smart phones of pedestrians and cyclists on a collision course and alert the driver. It will be based on an app that will connect Wi-Fi users to GM’s system. Smart phone users can specify on their phones if they are pedestrians or cyclists to allow GM’s Wi-Fi to streamline the system. GM wants to integrate the Wi-Fi Direct system with the vehicle’s driver-assistance systems to make it an inbuilt safety feature.

“This new wireless capability could warn drivers about pedestrians who might be stepping into the roadway from behind a parked vehicle, or bicyclists who are riding in the car’s blind spot,” said Nady Boules, GM Global R&D director of the Electrical and Control Systems Research Lab. 

GM will set up a pilot programme that will involve a connected-car network to test vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication in the US. Based on this the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will consider making the technology mandatory on vehicles and offer incentive to car makers for the adoption of the technology in the US. 

GM is also looking to take the technology a step further by offering a feature which will allow vehicle users to transfer digital files such as address books and music files from the home network to the vehicle as well as wireless phone connectivity with the vehicle’s infotainment system.

If the system proves to be successful and is implemented, it could considerably reduce the number of road casualties and injuries by removing the drawbacks of blind spots in automobiles as well as that of human error.