Cisco Lights Path to Greater Road Safety, Fewer Traffic Headaches

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 18, 2015) - With more than one billion vehicles worldwide on the road triggering billions of hours of traffic congestion (including more than five billion hours of travel delay each year in the United States alone), a majority of private and public stakeholders rank transportation as the infrastructure most in need of a major investment. Today, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced a suite of validated solutions that securely connect disparate transportation systems to increase safety and reduce roadside incidents, improve traffic flow, and provide a centralized view of highway systems. Utilizing the Internet of Everything, the Cisco® Connected Roadways solution creates an end-to-end infrastructure that helps enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications. This approach offers new business models and growth opportunities for transportation authorities, cities, automakers and freight operators; a safer driving experience for motorists; and the underlying infrastructure to help support self-driving vehicles in the coming years.

With mandates from the US Department of Transportation (USDoT), decision-makers are challenged with adopting new standards and infrastructure investments to stay up-to-date with regulations. According to the USDoT, 5.6 million crashes occurred in 2012 alone, resulting in more than 33,000 fatalities. The five billion hours of travel delay in the U.S. increase fuel consumption by 2.9 billion gallons, adding up to 56 billion pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year. Connected vehicle technologies will further empower drivers and system operators to make informed decisions that can ultimately reduce traffic and transit delays and avoid potential collisions. Connected vehicle environmental applications will give travelers up to date information they need to make "green" transportation choices.

Cisco Connected Roadways addresses the interoperability requirements based on the Connected Vehicle Reference Implementation Architecture:

• Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication to improve safety, where on board Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) radio from transit vehicles can interact with Traffic Safety System (TSS) for Transit Signal Priority (TSP).
• Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) dispatches information to field service technicians, mass transit vehicles or emergency services assisted by computer, via two-way radio, text messages or other forms of communication.
• Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) which automatically detects vehicle location and securely dispatches the information via the GPS. With Cisco integration, third party partners can alert drivers through CAD/AVL about upcoming traffic incidents. 
• Wireless Bulk Data Transfer gives fleet mass transit vehicles access to download multiple data types (e.g. schedules, announcements, route info, etc.) from a central repository over the Dedicated Short Range Communication interface to the onboard unit.
• System Management provides a comprehensive network management platform to perform FCAPS (fault, configuration, accounting, performance, security) functions for a transportation-focused system deployment.
• Cisco Services, which utilizes our industry leading experience to help improve system operational efficiency, scalability, security, and profitability with an end-to-end approach that aligns to business outcomes.

The suite of validated solutions is composed of Cisco IP Next Generation Network, Enterprise, Collaboration, and technology products. Solution highlights include: