Digital emergency alerts could help reroute robotaxis
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Haas Alert's Safety Cloud alerts drivers to the presence of emergency vehicles ahead. Photo: Courtesy of Haas Alert
Technology that warns human drivers of emergency vehicles ahead could also be used by autonomous vehicle companies to reroute robotaxis away from danger, a Chicago-based technology startup says.
Why it matters: Human drivers usually know enough to avoid police or fire scenes. But robotaxis keep driving into dicey situations and sometimes wind up blocking emergency responders, putting lives at risk.
Driving the news: The issue is an opportunity for Haas Alert, which specializes in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.
Catch up quick: The company's Safety Cloud platform provides real-time digital alerts to drivers and navigation systems when emergency responders are approaching.
- More than 5,000 agencies across the U.S. have installed Safety Cloud on their emergency vehicles, tow trucks, school buses and even snow plows, the company says.
How it works: Using existing cellular networks, alerts are delivered directly to nearly 3 million vehicle infotainment screens in Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler and VW models.
- Tens of millions of other drivers receive alerts through their smartphones via Waze and Apple Maps.
What they're saying: Safety Cloud could be integrated directly into AV companies' platforms so that robotaxis could be rerouted in real time when necessary, said Brock Aun, chief strategy officer at Haas Alerts.
- Analyzing that data over time could even help AV companies identify the riskiest corridors or times of day so they can avoid them altogether, he said.
State of play: Haas Alerts is engaged with all the major AV companies, but has yet to announce any pilot programs or tech deployments, according to Aun.
- One issue, he said, is that AV companies are reluctant to rely on cloud-based technologies and instead favor sensing systems that are fully integrated into the vehicle.
"If you're only relying on onboard tools for hazard detection, then you will not detect the hazard until you are upon it," Aun said.
- Connectivity is now sufficiently reliable to enable intelligent, cloud-based routing, he said.
- "This is the frontier of how these things will operate: combine ubiquitous connectivity with intelligent vehicles."
