DSRC-Enabled Automotive Co-Pilot Service

It has been estimated [1] that approximately 12% of large truck crashes are caused by driver non-performance: "...The driver fell asleep, was disabled by a heart attack or seizure, or was physically impaired for another reason." Certainly, a similar number of crashes involving cars, light trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles must be similarly caused. What is needed is a universal driver override, or co-pilot, system that can bring any automotive vehicle to a safe stop once it has been determined that the driver is not performing their duties. DSRC can play a crucial role in the implementation of such a system by providing secure high-bandwidth communication between any properly equipped vehicle and a control center where professional drivers can take momentary remote-control of an otherwise out-of-control vehicle in order to bring it to a safe stop. Proposal Whether the primary driver of an automotive vehicle, or a remotely located backup driver, is a human or an artificial intelligence (see "Google cars driving themselves", for example), failures can occur that lead to driver non-performance, and a remotely located backup driver could step-in to bring the vehicle to a safe stop. To do this, they would need to be able to see one or more live video feeds from the vehicle, and then transmit remote control commands to the vehicle in order to steer and brake at a minimum. Additional remote control command capabilities would be useful, and the owner of a vehicle could retain the option to turn this remote control driver override system off completely. DSRC would be particularly useful in the implementation of such a system because of the need for an absolutely secure and high-bandwidth communication link between a vehicle that is in trouble and a remote-control center where professional drivers are prepared to take control of any wayward vehicle at a moment's notice.    This concept can be developed and demonstrated using one Google-equipped self-driving car, one roadside DSRC access point with high-speed Internet connectivity, one DSRC transceiver in the vehicle, and a remote driver. It can be implemented on a large scale without the full set of Google's technology for self-driving cars of course, but the existence of such cars is useful for rapid demonstration of the concept. Conclusion This proposal could represent a compelling application, or "killer app", that is sufficient to guide the formation of a new business case for large-scale deployment of a DSRC-based V2I infrastructure. Many less-critical applications can then be implemented using the new DSRC-based V2I infrastructure. References: 1. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/research-technology/analysis/fmcsa-rra-07-017.htm