The Smart Way 2007 in Japan campaign run by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) and other organizations demonstrates the next-generation ITS, which transmits the driver support information and other data to vehicles based on the road-to-vehicle communication using DSRC in the 5.8GHz-band. In the demonstration, a vehicle was actually driven on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway. In this system, a vehicle receives information sent from the DSRC transceiver installed on the roadside with the use of car-mounted equipment. Based on the information thus supplied to the vehicle, the driver is alerted by the indication on the car navigation screen or an audible alarm. MLIT reportedly plans to launch the public service in 2010, starting from roads where congestion often occurs.
Four major technologies were demonstrated during the drive on the Tokyo Expressway:-
The first technology is designed to alert the driver by an indication on the car navigation screen or an audible alarm when a nearby car is attempting to pull into traffic at the junction on the expressway. The demonstration was performed at the Tanimachi Junction on the Metropolitan Expressway.
The second technology is designed to alert the driver when the car approaches a spot, such as a tunnel, where the driving environment changes significantly. The system shoots a still image of the point in question (such as inside a tunnel) and displays the image on the car navigation screen or generates an audible alarm. In the demonstration, the car navigation screen indicated the still image of inside the Kasumigaseki Tunnel, which was located about 2km ahead of the vehicle, when driving near Kasumigaseki on the Metropolitan Loop.
The system using the third technology stores information on locations where sharp curves, etc., exist in the map database beforehand. When the car is driving near the registered location, the driver is informed by the indication on the car navigation screen or an audible alarm depending on the vehicle speed. The technology was demonstrated in front of the S-curve near Benkeibori on No. 4 Shinjuku Route. The system was controlled to indicate the alert irrespective of the speed for the sake of easy understanding.
The fourth technology is designed to notify the driver of information on congestion or accidents ahead by an indication on the car navigation screen or an audible alarm. In the demonstration, the system indicated the existence of a disabled vehicle 300km ahead when driving near the Akasaka Tunnel and displayed congestion information when the car came near the Sangubashi Station. Again, the system was adjusted to display the information for the sake of demonstration.
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Demonstration was also performed in the Kajiyabashi Parking near the Tokyo International Forum to pay the parking fee and access the Internet via the car navigation system in a parking area
