Ford Intersection Priority Management

Intersection Priority Management is technology of priority control at intersections.

2018

On October 12, 2018 the Ford company reported that it tests technology which can lead to total disappearance of traffic lights in view of their uselessness. According to the company, continuous communication between cars should help with it. Engineers of the company were inspired by behavior of pedestrians on busy streets which can accelerate or slow down not to face others, but at the same time almost never completely stop.

The Intersection Priority Management technology (Priority control at intersections, IPM) is developed with the purpose to help drivers to pass intersections without stops. It will accelerate the average speed of traffic and will increase security and efficiency of the movement. Demonstration of work of technology took place this week on streets Milton-Keynes (Great Britain).

We know that intersections and traffic lights often cause irritability and nervousness in many drivers. The technology of the connected cars which we showed allows us to provide the world where cars are informed on maneuvers of each other and understand that it surrounds them. It allows to establish reasonable cooperation on roads, including at intersections. Christian Ress, head of development of technologies of the help to the driver in the European Center of researches and advanced developments of Ford

IPM uses communication between the car (Vehicle-to-Vehicle, V2V) for coordination with other vehicles in close proximity and offers the speed, optimal for journey of the intersection, which will allow cars to part safely on road crossings without stops.

Experimental cars were equipped with the V2V communication systems which transferred location of vehicles, the direction of the movement and speed. The onboard IPM systems are capable to identify approach to the intersection and also a trajectory of other vehicles approaching it. On the basis of these data the technology will offer optimal speed for each vehicle that will allow them to pass it safely.

During testing driving cars there were people. However it is supposed that the technology can be also applied on autonomous vehicles. Automation of "negotiations" on a priority in journey of the intersection can mean that once vehicles will be able to move safely and effectively needlessly in traffic lights or road signs. While modern autonomous vehicles work independently of each other with use of these sensors and cards of navigation onboard, V2V technologies and communication technologies connecting cars and road infrastructure (V2X) will be able to bring the organization of the movement in a pilotless flow to the following level.

IPM are the cornerstone the technologies for the connected cars developed by Ford and its partners in the project within the UK Autodrive program worth 20 million pounds sterling which purpose is the output of the connected and unmanned vehicles from test polygons on streets of the real cities.

Among the technologies shown to Ford during the two-year program which comes to the end in October, 2018 – warning of collisions at the intersection which warns drivers about a possibility of road accident at approach to the intersection, and the technology recommending optimal speed for the movement in "a green wave" which helps to synchronize car motion speed with operation of the next traffic lights to avoid stops on red.

Other shown technologies include "the crowdsourcing parking" – which allows to construct the card of empty seats on parkings using the cars given from parking sensors and also technology of warning of approach of the car of emergency services which notifies the driver on approach of the vehicle with the included special signals with indication of its coordinates.