ABSTRACT

Car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication (also known as CAR-2-X communication) has gained signi cant interest in Europe in the last few years as a promising technology to increase road safety. Its origins can be traced to the 1980s, when the PROMETHEUS (PROgramme for European Tra c with Highest E ciency and Unprecedented Safety) project (1987-1995)1 was initiated by the European car industry and performed in the framework of the EUREKA (European Research Coordination Agency) program. e original objective of the project PROMETHEUS was automated driving for private cars. Later, it shi ed its focus to driver information using in-vehicle systems, such as the intelligent copilot. e follow-up project DRIVE (Dedicated Road Infrastructure for Vehicle Safety in Europe) I (1988-1991)2 promoted advanced transport telematics (ATT), mainly considering road-side infrastructure. DRIVE II (1992-1994)

concentrated on strategies for management and the introduction of telematics systems for communication and tra c control, including test projects and eld tests. Overall, these projects have led to signi cant advances in European road transport, but the deployment of CAR-2-X communication was not possible due to lack of adequate and a ordable communication technology.