Mobile Device Capabilities for Broadcasting and Receiving VRU Safety Messages Over Bluetooth Wireless Technology

As cars, infrastructure, mobile devices and accessories all become smarter, the opportunity for improving driver awareness of vulnerable road users (VRUs) such as bicyclists, scooterists, road workers and pedestrians has never been greater. Tome Inc., in conjunction with Ford Motor Co. , has been researching the feasibility of sending and receiving safety messages from the VRU to the vehicle using BluetoothR Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) wireless technology. This investigation has included the use of dedicated Bluetooth LE hardware as well as mobile devices to transmit and receive personal safety messages (PSMs) for alerting vehicles in situations where normal ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) sensors might not be sufficient.