Nissan has announced it will offer a slip-hazard alert and road-cam service in Japan for vehicles with the company's CARWINGS telematics system. The slip-hazard alert will be available in December and testing of the road-cam system will start next month.
The slip-hazard alert links data from Japan's Intelligent Transport System (ITS) with ABS braking systems to warn drivers of slippery road conditions, while the road-cam system uses the ITS service to provide drivers with visual images of potentially dangerous mountain passes in winter.
Both of these forward-looking technologies provide drivers with a heads-up on hazards down the road and offer a glimpse of what the ITS in the U.S. could offer -- when it's eventually deployed.
Slip-hazard alert informs drivers of slippery areas on a roadway in relation to a vehicle's position, and voice warnings are issued as the car approaches the location and mapping of a slick zone is presented on the vehicle's nav screen. Real-time information is generated from incidents reported when a CARWINGS-equipped vehicle's ABS system is activated, and historical data is added based on statistical data of accidents in the area.
Nissan began testing the system in Japan late last year and claims that the tests, which are part of an ITS pilot project, caused drivers to slow down and drive more cautiously. Nissan will offer the service at no extra charge to its CARWINGS customers but hopes to commercialize it at some point in the future.
The road-cam service provides real-time images of mountain passes in the Hokkaido region of Japan, which often gets severe winter weather. Images are sent to the CARWINGS system's in-dash monitor and refreshed every 15 minutes.
ateixeira says:
06:33 AM, 10/16/08
I hope the info is close enough to real-time. Some traffic data I've sampled is not.