CarTALK 2000: safe and comfortable driving based upon inter-vehicle-communication

CarTALK 2000 is a European Project focussing on new driver assistance systems which are based upon inter-vehicle communication. The main objectives are the development of cooperative driver assistance systems on the one hand and the development of a self-organising ad-hoc radio network as a communication basis with the aim of preparing a future standard. As for the assistance system, the main issues are: a) assessment of today´s and future applications for co-operative driver assistance systems, b) development of software structures and algorithms, i.e. new fusion techniques, c) testing and demonstrating assistance functions in probe vehicles in real or reconstructed traffic scenarios. To achieve a suitable communication system, algorithms for radio ad-hoc networks with extremely high dynamic network topologies are developed and prototypes tested in the vehicles. Apart from technological goals, CarTALK 2000 actively addresses market introduction strategies including cost/benefit analyses and legal aspects, and aims at the standardisation to bring these systems to the European market. CarTALK 2000 started in August 2001 as a three-years project which is funded within the IST Cluster of the 5th Framework Program of the European Commission.