Volkswagen Adds ‘Vehicle-To-Everything’ Communications To Revamped Golf With NXP Chips

Back in mid-2017, Volkswagen announced that it would begin to deploy vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications across its lineup from 2019, but the company has been conspicuously silent about the topic since then. The launch of the new eighth-generation Golf changes that with the introduction of 802.11p-based V2X as standard equipment using a new chipset from NXP. 

Volkswagen isn’t the first automaker to bring this technology to market, but with sales of more than half a million Golfs across Europe every year, this will be far and away the largest deployment in the world. Toyota introduced this capability on several Japanese market models in 2015 and Cadillac added it to the CTS in 2017 for the US market. However, none of these were high volume products and they had little market impact. 

The particular wireless communication system VW, Toyota and Cadillac have used is a variant of wifi called 802.11p that has been optimized to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and V2X connectivity. It has been referred to by various names in different regions. In the US, it is generally known as dedicated short-range-communications (DSRC) while it Europe the term public wireless local area network (pWLAN) is used. 

During the Obama administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a mandate to include DSRC in new vehicles, but the Trump administration has not moved forward with implementation. Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed a delegated act that would have mandated the same technology in Europe, but at the last moment, the regulation was pulled back under pressure from wireless carriers and companies including Qualcomm that are pushing for an alternative system based on cellular technology (C-V2X).

Despite the lack of regulatory mandates, VW has opted to move forward with DSRC. In 2018, Toyota announced it would do the same in the US from 2021 in hopes of enticing other automakers to do the same. However, no other manufacturer made a commitment and earlier this year, Toyota suspended its plan. At this time, the only other automakers to commit to a timeline for V2X are Ford which has announced it will use C-V2X instead of DSRC and GM which has not announced which technology it will use in 2023.

At launch, V2X-equipped Golfs will be able to share basic safety messages that can be broadcast from the car or from roadside units equipped with DSRC radios. When a Golf encounters a slippery road surface that triggers stability control, it can send out a message that is received by other vehicles in an 800 m radius to provide alerts to the driver before they arrive on the scene. Similarly, cars can receive hazard warnings such a car ahead braking suddenly, or motorcycles approaching from the opposite direction that let the driver know not to pass. 

Emergency vehicles in Europe are now starting to be equipped with DSRC that can alert drivers before they see or hear them. One of the key advantages of V2X regardless of which technology is used is the ability to extend situational awareness beyond the line of sight of the driver or the sensors that may be on the vehicle. 

For example, drivers can be alerted about a vehicle approaching an intersection that may not be slowing for a red light. The driver can stop before proceeding through the intersection. In Hamburg, Germany, Siemens is equipping traffic signals with DSRC units to provide alerts and companies including Honda, Bosch and Continental have demonstrated intelligent intersections using sensors and DSRC. Cameras and other sensors on the traffic signal poles can detect pedestrians about to cross the street and broadcast a message to oncoming vehicles. 

Eventually, V2X is expected to be tied into some driver assist systems such as automatic emergency braking to augment the ability to avoid crashes or impacts with pedestrians and cyclists. However, this has not been included at launch on the Golf. In the future, DSRC (or C-V2X) can also be beneficial for automated vehicles to help them signal intent to each other as they negotiate their way through the world. DSRC is also starting to be utilized for automatic road tolling with Austria now adopting this approach. 

The Golf is equipped with DSRC chipset from Dutch chipmaker NXP. The NXP chipset integrates DSRC as part of the wifi hotspot capability that is also built into the car which helps to keep the incremental cost down. Volkswagen is expected to continue adding DSRC to other models in its lineup over the next several years but no further details are available right now.