Last month Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America and the U.S. Department of Transportation launched the largest connected vehicle field in the world in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Over 2800 passenger, commercial, and transit vehicles were being fitted with 5.9GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) radios.

Mercedes-Benz, being a pioneer in automovite safety, considers innovations based on the 5.9Ghz DSRC technology, in combination with invehicle Advanced Driver Assistance Systems as an important step towards accident free driving.

The passenger vehicles have an LED indicator on the dashboard that will illuminate if an impending collision exists.  The commercial vehicles display warnings through tablet devices installed in the cockpit.  Local Ann Arbor residents will drive these vehicles over the course of a year, while researchers collect and analyze data to assess the systems effectiveness.

Mercedes-Benz continues to collaborate with government agencies and other manufacturers both in the U.S. and Europe and is currently heading up a similar project in Germany.