DSRC will usher in changes, taking the Driving Public…From: To:Proprietary, Stand-Alone Systems Open, Standard, Interoperable SystemsOne Device Per Application One Device, Multiple ApplicationsIn-Vehicle Technology In-Vehicle ApplicationsAfter-the-fact Traffic Data Driver-Centric Actionable InformationMarket Imperfection Consumer Choice

Talking Points: 5.9GHz DRSC SystemsTalking Points: 5.9GHz DRSC Systems

5.9GHz DSRC a wireless communication technology designed to deliver seamless, scalable and unique safety and mobility applications to drivers that increase the safety, efficiency and productivity of the transportation system. To better understand DSRC and the acronyms that come with it, you must become familiar with basic terms that describe it: RFID, ETC, DSRC, EPS, and ITS.

DSRC - ‘RFID’ for the Driving PublicRadio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a business and productivity solution that has been applied across several markets and applications over time. In the past two years it has enjoyed even greater recognition.

Most people have read stories about cheap, miniature ‘tags’ being used by Wal-Mart, the government and others to identify and track inventory from T-shirts to tires. This is RFID and the technology seems to have been labeled as the solution to everything. Though some stories may be optimistic, the truth is that basic RFID systems have been around and running reliably for decades.

Most consumers in fact, already know RFID, because chances are, they use it every day. Since the late 1980s, RFID-type systems have formed the guts of electronic toll collection systems (ETC), automated parking systems, access control, and animal and container tracking systems, where a ‘tag’ is identified by a ‘reader,’ which in turn permits you to do something, such as cross a toll bridge, enter a gated facility, pay for parking, or even purchase lunch.

With the emergence of a new RFID platform called DSRC, new benefits and opportunities will emerge, leading to advances in driving safety, efficiency & enjoyment.

DSRCDSRC is a method of interoperable, wireless communications designed specifically for vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle mobile situations, and uses a new standard (described later). Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) operates in a specific frequency band - 5.850GHz to 5.925GHz – allocated

by the Federal Communications Commission. The industry refers to the whole band as ‘5.9GHz.’ (“Gigaherz”). The jargon also allows the use of ‘DSRC’ to substitute for ‘5.9GHz DSRC/WAVE.’

© 2009 OmniAir Consortium

YOU ARE HERE.

You Are Here

Technically Speaking…The DSRC communication protocol is a short to medium range service designed to support both public safety and private Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications sent from roadside units and serving a driver in his vehicle using an on-board unit and computer. DSRC also permits Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications, primarily safety applications. Another name for ITS is ‘telematics,’ defined as “the application of computers and communication systems to enhance driving safety and improve overall mobility of people and goods.”

Compared to What is in Our Vehicle Today…5.9GHz DSRC is not meant to compete with Global Positioning Systems (GPS), cellular or FM radio, but complements them by providing very high-speed, very secure, and large data transfer rates in situations when communication must occur very quickly, confidently, and in a fairly compact and isolated communication zone (see below):

5.9GHz DSRC FM Radio Cellular Phone Satellite

Range 1000 meters Hundreds of kilometers Kilometers Thousands of

kilometers

Data Rates 6 to 27 mbps >10 kpsPresent

>500kbpsfuture 2-3 mbps

Low

Cost(per bit) None None $ Depends on

usage $$$

The Significance of ‘Standards Compliance’

DSRC/WAVE is a long acronym for the name of an in-vehicle, interoperable communication device operating in the 5.850-5.925 GHz band with a standards compliant chipset and communications ‘stack’ or protocol (a way of operating).

The reason devices are ‘standards compliant’ in DSRC/WAVE is that platform is created to advance the national deployment of ITS applications. And, national interoperability is more readily achieved through is the same standards are used by everyone.

In fact, all communication methods employ some form of standard. Manufacturers who supply the systems take the standard specification and build ‘to it.’ Knowing that if others do too, the components should work together - in other words, ‘inter-operate.’

Types of Standards

Sometimes standards are private, or ‘proprietary,’ and parties must pay a fee to license or use what is basically the intellectual property of someone else. Other times they are public, and freely accessible. People can build to the standard, as well as add any bells and whistles to it, as long as the fundamental components remain unchanged and accord to the standard.

© 2009 OmniAir Consortium

A good example comes from the computer industry: Windows is a proprietary software product – an operating system – whereas the operating system called Linux has been built and developed over the years using an open standard that is not proprietary, meaning it is free to be modified as long as the core elements are maintained.

Who Built DSRC/WAVE?

The DSRC/WAVE platform is ‘open’ technology based on the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 communication protocol, several versions of which are popularly known as Wi-Fi®.

DSRC/WAVE has unique design characteristics however, and unique requirements, so was modified explicitly for our use by the American Society of Testing and Materials

(ASTM) and the IEEE for high-speed, high data-rate, secure mobile applications.

The term is a descriptive and distinguishing acronym for a telematics technology created to help industry and the public identify the service.

Where Will I Find DSRC/WAVE?Where Will I Find DSRC/WAVE?

The 5.9GHz DSRC platform has been developing for some years but is not yet deployed. Testing is underway. The technology is intended to support a wide range of applications and will surface across the nation’s highway and street systems, parking garages, airports, bus systems, and intersections. It may be also be used commercially in the form of consumer ‘infotainment’ applications like map, music and concierge services. Only a small portion of the possible applications are presently defined and some are not even imagined yet.

#1 Public Safety #1 Public Safety Public Safety represents the premier class of applications DSRC/WAVE was made for. The objective of a Public Safety application here is to avoid an accident. Reducing vehicle accidents and crashes has many benefits beyond the obvious advantage of saving lives. Even an accident without injury to the driver significantly increases traffic congestion and often results in delays and cost to those involved and also to society.

Some typical Public Safety applications include intersection collision warning, traffic signal pre-emption for emergency vehicles, variable message signs, emergency roadside medical messaging, and lane departure warnings.

© 2009 OmniAir Consortium

Beyond Injury - Safety Applications Seek to Avoid Accidents in the First Place

The US Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have done much over the years in terms of safeguarding people when a crash occurs (Antilock Braking Systems, airbags, vehicle crumple zones).

The exciting potential of DSRC/WAVE is that it represents an effort to reduce highway fatalities by preventing the collision in the first place. But, the regrettable fact remains that over 40,000 people died on highways last year – a figure that actually crept up. In response, DSRC is being tested for deployment by the USDOT through two programs.

The first is called Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration (VII). The VII program is in the planning stages, but the objective is to build a national network of road-side devices that would communicate with vehicles in a seamless, interoperable manner and enable many applications.

The second is the Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System (CICAS). The objective of this specific application it to avoid collisions at intersection, a leading cause of highway fatalities. Here, an approaching vehicle outfitted – right at the factory – with a device is ‘read’ by a reader at an intersection. If the device at the intersection detects any vehicles approaching in a potentially dangerous manner, a warning alerts the driver in time to avoid the accident.

#2 Traffic Management and Productivity#2 Traffic Management and Productivity

The next most common uses for DSRC/WAVE are traffic management, transportation network efficiency and mobile information services. As written above, the basic plan is to outfit all vehicles coming off the assembly line with a standard device. The vehicle is then read by a network of roadside ‘readers’ as it drives by. The readers send the data to traffic management centers that use this data to manage roadways better – in real time – saving time and increasing mobility.

Privacy and Anonymity – Bedrock Concepts

The success of DSRC/WAVE depends highly on accepting it in the first place. Data privacy and anonymity are paramount. So, for traffic management applications you are never identified as “Mr. Jones.” You are anonymous to the system. As you drive past a roadside unit (RSU), the RSU only records a ‘read’ and sends the data (such as, ‘vehicle passed location of roadside device #10 at 1:00PM, Tuesday…’) to a computer that generates useful information for highway management centers. For safety messages and traffic management applications, no one need know identity.

For other applications, so called ‘opt-in’ services, you must volunteer some information in order to use the service. Perhaps the most common one today is electronic toll collection.

The Toll Industry TodayThe Toll Industry TodayThe most widely used application today, which is a DSRC service but simply uses current technology, is Electronic Payment Services. EPS is any service where financial information and money is transacted and a service rendered. Electronic toll collection (ETC) is the most common form of EPS.

With DSRC/WAVE, EPS will benefit specifically because the design features of the new platform have benefits not seen in systems used today.

© 2009 OmniAir Consortium

DID YOU KNOW?

The Future of the Toll Industry: National andThe Future of the Toll Industry: National and InteroperableInteroperable

With the advent of DSRC/WAVE, a true national standard for EPS is on the visible horizon and with it comes a unique opportunity for service providers to shape how they use it. Again, there are key distinctions between what people think of today as ‘ETC’ and future payment applications.

The first is spatial - the geography of 5.9GHz EPS will no longer be limited to a handful of distinct regions of technically separate toll systems. It will be national, coast-to-coast, and seamless through the use of common in-vehicle devices (called onboard units (OBU) and roadside units (RSU). These devices will be available from a number of providers and certified systems will work together, i.e., be interoperable. Furthermore, DSRC/WAVE devices will be able to accommodate many applications on one device, as opposed to just the one.

The second is operational – while today’s systems are used overwhelmingly for ETC, they operate on a frequency that is shared with other users who can potentially impact reliability. DSRC/WAVE resolves this issue and others the toll industry faces in its pursuit of operational efficiency, lower cost, and higher customer service. DSRC/WAVE was specifically designed to offer higher data rates, stronger security suitable for financial and personal data, longer ranges, and better reliability.

Why is it Emerging Now? The Tools are in Place.Why is it Emerging Now? The Tools are in Place.

The prerequisites to deploy this technology are nearly ready. All EPS service providers should be interested and involved in WAVE - and the OmniAir certification programs - to ensure that their requirements are met as the platform develops. The events leading up to this moment:

1. An Exclusive FrequencyAt the request of the ITS community, the Federal Communications Commission allocated an exclusive frequency band for WAVE systems (5.850-5.925GHz). This exceptional achievement removes the possibility of interference caused by other unlicensed users.

2. Open StandardsThe technology’s standards are open, non-proprietary, and should be approved in 2006.

3. Government SupportIn December 2003, the FCC Report & Order underscored the link between standards and interoperability, and adopted the standard as a requirement for the basic radio component.

4. Certified True Interoperabilitytm

Public and private sector DSRC stakeholders founded the non-profit OmniAir Consortium, Inc. Members of OmniAir are working to build a certification program that will ensure standards compliance and system interoperability. We must meet these requirements to confidently deploy

© 2009 OmniAir Consortium

Electronic Toll Collection:Since the late 1980’s, electronic toll collection (ETC) has been the premier DSRC application. ETC was originally deployed to improve traffic flow at toll plazas, but since then, other variations of the application have developed such as open road ‘express’ tolling, parking and e-commerce. While the current technology is robust and reliable, systems are discrete and the technology proprietary and limited.

systems made of components from any and all suppliers offering OmniAir-certified products. Entities that operate transportation systems absolutely require this.

5. HardwareThe USDOT is currently funding and overseeing a project – a group of industry suppliers are currently making a standards-compliant prototype DSRC/WAVE system due late 2005. In 2006 and 2007, they will test select applications such as collision avoidance.

6. SoftwareOutside of the safety applications, e.g. those ‘opt-in’ applications described above, industry must set the standards. For toll operations, OmniAir is focusing on standard electronic payment service application requirements that are the other key to true, nationally interoperable deployments.

Benefits for You and the Facilities You UseBenefits for You and the Facilities You Use

The capabilities of DSRC/WAVE enable new benefits - the first is administrative:

DSRC/WAVE technology is well suited to perform many applications on a single device. For the millions of commuters, truck drivers, taxi and fleet operators with a toll 'tag' today, this is very significant. With DSRC/WAVE, ‘one tag–one account’ is a main objective. Furthermore, the delivery of additional applications such as real-time traffic alerts, weather advisory, signal pre-emption, border clearance, fleet management and infotainment is possible by implementing a single, interoperable device. The benefits only increase with the number of applications.

A second anticipated outcome is the cost of deploying DSRC/WAVE hardware:

DSRC/WAVE technology is based on the IEEE 802.11(a), a Wi-Fi® related standard, for which equipment is already available from many companies. As capable as they are, today’s ETC systems are somewhat price inelastic. This means that the cost for them has not moved despite high user acceptance and increasing volumes of tags. With DSRC/WAVE, the new technology may at last become subject to the same competitive pressures we see in almost every other technology device market segment in the US.

A third benefit concerns an advantage not provided by adherence to DSRC/WAVE hardware standards alone:

Application Interoperability – the software side - complements DSRC/WAVE, the hardware. Together, this is True Interoperabilitytm. Application standards must and will be made by OmniAir members who intend to use DSRC/WAVE systems to deliver their applications.

EPS Application InteroperabilityEPS Application InteroperabilityIt is important to see that despite standards compliant and interoperable hardware, no standard definition of the toll application exists in the USA today. This inhibits what we call the ‘cross-platform’ use of the device. For example, toll systems with the E-ZPass™ logo are unable to link to a customer with a SunPass™ tag, and vice versa, which means that the tag won’t work. Moreover, there are at least four discrete types of toll collection systems today. They fail to interoperate not only because of different hardware standards, but also because each operator and supplier with whom they work define the application differently.

A standard application specification – which will be developed by industry by the OmniAir Consortium’s Electronic Payment Services Committee - addresses this challenge. Once available, it will directly enable payment applications, be they toll, parking, or food purchase, on a DSRC/WAVE device in the vehicle

© 2009 OmniAir Consortium

regardless of where it came from – but only as long as the application is standardized and the hardware OmniAir-certified.

Let’s Say it Again

Without common specifications for the EPS ‘application,’ a company providing the next ‘E-ZPass’ or ‘SunPass’ could still deliver DSRC/WAVE hardware, but with proprietary elements to the application. The addition of standard application protocols – developed by the members of OmniAir – takes the industry an important step toward meeting their goals to serve you by preventing proprietary applications from precluding device interoperability. It should go without saying that the industry’s participation to produce this standard is crucial.

Realizing the BenefitsRealizing the Benefits

DSRC/WAVE and Application Interoperability offer the potential for a new way to increase the safety, efficiency and enjoyment of the driving experience. Rather than irritability, it could well become WAVE-mobility!

With standard, interoperable tag from multiple sources and standard applications on those devices, being a driver changes. Anybody with DSRC/WAVE device and a standard application that is OmniAir certified will be able to enter a corresponding WAVE system and use the available services. In addition, the flexibility inherent in the technology and the applications will allow service providers to tailor the level and extent of customer services to reflect the needs of their particular customer base, which benefits the driving public.

Though the 5.9GHz WAVE platform offers significant opportunities for all drivers, certain things can be done to help ensure that its benefits are delivered suitably and fully. On one hand, service providers are encouraged to become active in the development of OmniAir certification programs so that they can help shape how the technology rolls out. In addition, when WAVE systems are available, both those who manage transportation facilities and provide service, and those who use them, must demand that they are OmniAir-certified standard compliant.

© 2009 OmniAir Consortium