The DGT and Seat use the IoT (Internet of Things) for the safety of cyclists on the road

Telefónica, the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) and SEAT presented yesterday in Becerril de la Sierra (Madrid) two cases of use in which the IoT technology (Internet of Things) is put at the service of road safety to help reduce accidents on the spanish roads.

The objective of the project is show the operation of an Internet of Things solution for early detection and warning of risk to drivers traveling on a road in two specific cases that frequently cause situations of great danger:

• La presence of a cyclist rolling in the same way.
• The existence of a car standing on the road because of breakdown or other type of incident.

A DGT drone will detect if a bicycle is circulating and will notify the system

The Internet of Things system consists of a drone with camera, which captures images of what happens on the road and the send in real time through Telefónica's mobile network to a server that will be connected to the DGT 3.0 platform, and that processes the image, detect if there is a bicycle or a stationary vehicle on the road and sends an alarm to the SEAT connected car.

The vehicle is connected to the network thanks to a telematic unit, Telematic Control Unit (TCU), using C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle to Everything) technology thanks to a ssoftware that allows communication between the internal network of the vehicle and its environment (the DGT3.0 platform of the General Traffic Directorate, signaling and infrastructure systems, other vehicles ...).

The cars receive an alarm

The result is that the connected cars that circulate along that road in the same direction in which the obstacle has been detected they receive an alarm that warns them of the danger that will be found later, so that the driver can anticipate and make decisions with room for maneuver, avoiding possible accidents.

The DGT3.0 platform, real-time traffic information

The DGT3.0 platform keeps the road users connected by informing them of the real-time traffic status, deviations, reversible lanes, application of pollution protocol measures, traffic restrictions, works in progress and any type of incident that may affect circulation

You can also send them alerts of the proximity of cyclists, the forecast of cuts or congestions and the risk of fog. All this information is of vital importance when it comes to improving road safety, especially on secondary roads.

All this data will be exchanged between the drivers and the intelligent platform of the DGT anonymously with all the guarantees to maintain the digital security of the users.

This action is part of the DGT's commitment to road safety with special emphasis on cyclists, one of the most vulnerable user groups, as evidenced by the fact that in 2018 a total of 36 cyclists died on the roads spanish

. The objective is to be able to eradicate fatal and serious accidents, as well as minimize emissions on the roads and to achieve this, technology is one of the great allies.