Toyota And Lexus To Launch Tech To Connect Vehicles And Infrastructure

Toyota and Lexus have announced that both brands will be rolling out tech to connect vehicles with infrastructure in the US in 2021. The automaker wants vehicles to be able to talk to each other and the surrounding environment to help keep passengers and drivers safer. The tech that will be rolled out by 2021 is called Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC).

DSRC will be sold in vehicles available in the US by 2021 with the goal of having the tech available on all Toyota and Lexus vehicles by the mid-2020 range. DSRC will enable vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications known collectively as V2X. The tech has already been comprehensively tested via government-industry collaborations and is deployed already in some parts of the US.

With the tech, information can be broadcast in an anonymized manner several times per second. The information that can be broadcasted includes vehicle location, speed, and acceleration. That info can be used by other vehicles with DSRC tech to help prevent collisions.

Communication with the tech can also help provide real-time information to drivers on potential hazards, slow or stopped vehicles, signals, signs, and road conditions that might be hard for drivers to see. DSRC uses 7 channels of the 5.9GHz spectrum that are allocated for Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Toyota and Lexus point out that vehicles equipped with DSRC will not incur any cellular network charges. The tech is also based on industry standards, so Toyota and Lexus vehicles will be able to communicate with all other vehicles using the tech.

SOURCE: Toyota