Questions raised about aftermarket participation in V2V communications

There were 175 companies from around the world at the Department of Transportation's Plug Fest in San Antonio in May. Many were aftermarket suppliers of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications equipment previewing equipment that they hope will be certified when the DOT-endorsed V2V certification process starts up later this summer.

Aftermarket V2V devices will play a big role in determining how quickly autonomous vehicles become successful. But just how big a role will be determined by how some of the intricacies of the new, proposed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standard work out. And there is a lot of ironing out that has to be done, based on comments the DOT's NHTSA received at its January 2017 proposal to create a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 150. It will require all new light vehicles to be capable of V2V communications, such that they will send and receive basic safety messages (BSMs) to and from other vehicles.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) has forecast the growth of aftermarket and consumer electronics given a V2V motor vehicle standard. Its forecast shows that by 2029 – seven years after the projected phase-in of the light vehicle V2V rule – 60 percent of all vehicles, or a cumulative 146 million cars, will have DSRC/V2X equipment. Adoption of aftermarket/consumer electronics DSRC/V2X devices for existing vehicles are forecast to outpace factory installed DSRC for new cars for by 2027.

The aftermarket installation of DSRC aftermarket radios raises a few questions that the NHTSA does not address in its proposed rule: who is going to certify equipment (OEM and aftermarket) and against what standards; will V2V equipment be subject to state vehicle inspection and will aftermarket equipment have to meet the same standards as OEM equipment in all instances.

It seems that the certification question will be settled by NHTSA deeming the OmniAir Certification Services (OCS) will be given the authority to green-light products. Jason Conley, Executive Director, OCS, says testing will likely begin later this summer. The OCS will test products against the 802.11p/1609 Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) protocols and some other protocols. "The aftermarket is one of the very first places we will see V2V equipment deployed," says Conley.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) says there are several questions that are not adequately addressed in the proposed rule issued last January. Among those are whether NHTSA will establish standards and specifications to ensure that aftermarket devices are installed and operated properly. Aftermarket products will have to be certified by the OCS, but what about installers of aftermarket devices? Will they have to be certified, too? Also, will there be standards for the training of aftermarket installers?

These are crucial question for the aftermarket. "We do have concerns that a program designed to certify installers may not be the best approach," says Aaron Lowe, senior VP of regulatory and government affairs, Auto Care Association. "We would like NHTSA to consider the possibility of dedicated or designated certification stations that could be used to test both professionally installed, as well as do it yourself (DIY) installed V2V communication solutions."

There also are uncertainties as to whether NHTSA standards for radios will in some instances lock out aftermarket radios. Paul Schomburg, director, government & public affairs, Panasonic Corporation of North America, says rather than adopting 300 meters as the minimum transmission range and requiring that vehicles transmit the BSM to at least 300 meters in all directions (i.e. 360 degrees), Panasonic believes that NHTSA should specify an average range of at least 300 meters and allow vehicle manufacturers flexibility to determine optimal transmission range and coverage.

"Moreover, aftermarket installations, which will be an important element in accelerating DSRC deployment, will not enjoy the advantage of a complete system design of the antenna, antenna position and vehicle shape, making it difficult to ensure 300-meter coverage over 360 degrees," Schomburg explains. "Therefore, NHTSA should allow vehicle and aftermarket device manufacturers flexibility to determine how best to meet the requirement of an average 300-meter communication range."

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