Fuente : Siemens
http://www.siemens.es

Study proves that virtual traffic signs make driving safer

Siemens and Munich universities receive Integrata Foundation’s prize for humane use of information technology

/noticias.info/ Together with the Center for Digital Technology and Management, an interdisciplinary institute of Munich’s Technical University and Ludwig Maximilian University, Siemens AG’s telecom division (Siemens Communications) studied “virtual traffic signs”. The scientists who participated in the study initiated by Siemens were able to prove that traffic flow would greatly benefit if in certain situations drivers were able to receive additional traffic signs either on a dashboard-mounted display or on their windshield via a heads-up display. Recently, the Integrata Foundation honored the study’s results with its Wolfgang Heilmann Prize for the Humane Use of Information Technology. Siemens is currently considering continuing this research project.

To allow the virtual traffic signs to take account of the current traffic situation, they must be integrated into a central traffic management system where all traffic-related information is collected. As the transmission medium to the vehicle, mobile communication or DVB (Digital Video Broadcast), a broadcast technology used by radio and television, can be employed.

Since installing and maintaining traffic signs and control systems is very expensive, economic aspects also played a role in the study: The researchers of Siemens and the two Munich universities believe that it will be economically feasible over the long term to use virtual traffic signs almost exclusively for motorized drivers in the future.

Initially, however, the virtual traffic signs would serve as supplements to currently existing signs and control systems. For example, they could be used to keep reminding drivers of speed limits. They could also be used to transmit special safety-related information to individual cars, for example when a driver is threatening to enter a freeway in the wrong direction. And truck drivers could benefit by being warned when upcoming overpasses are too low for their particular vehicle.

Temporary construction sites, fallen trees or accidents are frequently sudden obstacles for which regular traffic signs are useless. With virtual signs, cities and communities can respond much more cost-effectively to such trouble spots and warn drivers or even block whole sections of roadway.

The concept developed by Siemens and the Center for Digital Technology and Management opens up perspectives for completely new alternatives in traffic management. If the physical traffic signs for motorized drivers were completely eliminated, they could be guided much more flexibly than today with respect to traffic flow and route selection. The study makes it clear that a system of virtual traffic signs would lead to major improvements in vehicle mobility and represent a use of information technology that truly benefits humans.


Wolfgang Heilmann-Prize
The non-profit “Integrata Foundation for the Humane Use of Information Technology” supports research projects, educational institutions and implementation projects that promote the humane use of information technology. As part of its program activities, the Integrata Foundation awards each year its “Wolfgang Heilmann Prize for the Humane Use of Information Technology”. This prize honors outstanding contributions to putting modern information technology to humane use, i.e. for projects that improve our daily lives and thus our general quality of life. The foundation focuses particularly on practical aspects, i.e. on projects that go beyond pure research and include proposals for implementing the findings.

The “Wolfgang Heilmann Prize for the Humane Use of Information Technology”, which includes €10,000, will be awarded for the fifth time this year. Recipients are selected by the foundation’s board, which includes representatives from business and science. This year, the Integrata Foundation is honoring three outstanding studies on the subject of “Traffic Relief Through Telematics and Telecooperation”.
More information is available at http://www.integrata-stiftung.de


Center for Digital Technology and Management
As a joint institution of Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University and Technical University, the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) accepts outstanding students from the fields of business, information technology and electrical engineering. Parallel to their main studies in their chosen majors, students complete a four-semester program with special focus on interdisciplinary studies, international studies, entrepreneurship and combining science with practical applications. The program’s goal is to select highly motivated and outstanding students and provide them with supplemental training in addition to their original fields to prepare them for leadership positions in society. As part of a global network of excellent educational institutions, the CDTM wants to strengthen Bavaria as a business location through highly qualified graduates, innovation in higher education and the organized transfer of knowledge between scientific and business institutions. The CDTM’s research focuses on the field of wireless technologies. More information is available at http://www.cdtm.de


Siemens Communications is one of the largest players in the global telecommunications industry. Siemens is the only provider in the market that offers its customers a full-range portfolio, from devices for end users to complex network infrastructures for enterprises and carriers as well as related services. Siemens Communications is the world’s innovation leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. It is the largest Group within Siemens and operates in more than 160 countries around the world. In fiscal 2004 (year-end September 30), its 60,000-strong workforce posted sales of approximately 18 billion euros. notas_de_prensa_archivo