A Blind Zone Alert System Based on Intra-Vehicular Wireless Sensor Networks

Due to the increasing number of sensors deployed in modern vehicles, intra-vehicular wireless sensor networks (IVWSNs) have recently received a lot of attention in the automotive industry, as they can reduce the amount of wiring harness inside a vehicle. By removing the wires, car manufacturers can reduce the weight of a vehicle and improve engine performance, fuel economy, and reliability. In addition to these direct benefits, an IVWSN is a versatile platform that can support other vehicular applications as well. An example application, known as a side blind zone alert (SBZA) system, which monitors the blind zone of the vehicle and alerts the driver in a timely manner to prevent collisions, is discussed in this paper. The performance of the IVWSN-based SBZA system is evaluated via real experiments conducted on two test vehicles. Our results show that the proposed system can achieve approximately 95%-99% detection rate with less than 15% false alarm rate. Compared with commercial systems using radars or cameras, the main benefit of the IVWSN-based SBZA is substantially lower cost.