What if one day we no longer hear the sirens of the ambulances asking us for space? What if the traffic lights had sensors to give them the green light directly?
That day may be closer than we think: In Aachen, Germany, Ford is testing a technology on a stretch of highway with eight consecutive traffic lights and two sections with three consecutive traffic lights on the outskirts of the city with a Kuga SUV equipped with a system. communication and a software prototype. The model acted as both an ambulance and a passenger vehicle, in different scenarios.
The target? To develop a technology to connect traffic lights to cars to improve traffic safety, especially for emergency vehicles. The idea is to give the green light to the signals for the passage of ambulances, fire brigade cars and police cars. In addition, the system could also reduce traffic jams by informing nearby vehicles of the opening (green) and closing (red) times of traffic lights. Communication between vehicles and traffic lights is done using C-V2X technology.
Ford’s project has also aroused the interest of Audi, Volkswagen and the Stellantis group. That day could be very close.