Siemens and Cohda Wireless Collaborate on C-ITS infrastructure

Initial joint project for intelligent road signs and traffic lights has started

MUNICH, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens AG (XETRA: SIE) and Cohda Wireless today announced they will collaborate in the area of Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I).

V2I devices are part of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), which share information between vehicles and roadside infrastructure such as traffic lights. This increases the quality and reliability of information available to drivers about their immediate environment, other vehicles and road users.

Siemens expects to globally deploy transport infrastructure such as overhead sign gantries and traffic lights in its V2I roadside units (RSUs). RSUs are 802.11p WLAN-based radio modules that reliably and securely transmit information such as speed limits, warnings of icy roads or other dangerous situations, traffic jams and construction warnings within a fraction of a second to passing vehicles and traffic control centres. The successful adoption of vehicle to infrastructure technologies is expected to significantly reduce traffic congestion, reduce vehicle accidents and lower auto-related pollution.

Under an agreement signed by the companies, Cohda Wireless will develop and produce RSUs for Siemens, enabling this 'smart infrastructure' to communicate with connected vehicles. It will also see Siemens base its Sitraffic ESCoS RSU upon Cohda's market-leading MK5 V2X family, using NXP's Roadlink chip sets.

Siemens is a world-leading provider of mobility solutions and Cohda Wireless is the market leader in V2I technology. Siemens will deploy Cohda's technology for various ITS field tests and pilot projects, including the A58 motorway in the Netherlands, A9 motorway in Germany, and the Living Lab in Austria.

Cohda Wireless CEO Dr. Paul Gray said Cohda's agreement with Siemens created greater certainty for organisations planning to adopt connected vehicle technology. "Cohda is very pleased to be supplying Siemens with our V2X products. The collaboration of two leaders in their respective markets is good news," he said.

Siemens' Sitraffic platform is the world's most comprehensive road traffic management platform. The Siemens Sitraffic ESCoS RSU will be able to communicate important information to and from cars and larger vehicles equipped with V2X technology.

Cohda Wireless provides hardware and software development services and products for the roadside units, based on Siemens' long-standing ITS knowhow and development specifications. Cohda also ensures maximum communication reliability and quality, even in challenging reception conditions such as between tall buildings.

Cohda V2X hardware and software is the most mature and well tested in the market today. Cohda equipment has been chosen for the simTD trial in Germany, the 3000 vehicle Safety Pilot trial in the US, and has been bought by many carmakers, tier one suppliers, and road authorities. Today Cohda equipment is used in more than 60 per cent of vehicles involved in Cooperative-ITS trials globally. Cohda products have undergone about one million vehicle-days of testing in these trials.

Cohda Wireless is the leading equipment vendor in the V2X market. The company manufactures systems with acknowledged best-in-world performance. Cohda's hardware and software products are being used in more than 60 per cent of all V2X field trials worldwide today. Customers include many carmakers, tier one suppliers, automotive chipmakers, road authorities and new market entrants. Cohda's products are already used in the USA, Europe, Australia, Japan, China, and Korea. For more information, visit www.cohdawireless.com.