Early detection of a disabled vehicle around a blind corner is a safety advantage for any driver. Performing tasks like this via wireless communications is the wave of future "intelligent vehicles," according to a paper written by three Denso engineers.

Currently, autonomous vehicle safety sensors such as vision cameras and on-vehicle radars can detect when the vehicle is about to steer outside its lane or when it is approaching another vehicle traveling much slower. But these systems generally require line-of-sight environments and cannot see crossing cars at intersections or disabled vehicles around blind corners that can present hazards for drivers.

Denso's award-winning paper delves into the potential of wireless systems to extend this sensor range through non-line-of-sight radio communications that can broadcast the presence, speed, direction and location of other similarly equipped vehicles, thereby expanding the horizon of awareness for the drivers and provide earlier detection of potentially hazardous driving situations.

The Denso paper captured the 2006 Trevor O. Jones Outstanding Paper Award, presented during the Convergence Transportation Electronics Association (CTEA) banquet on Oct.19 in Detroit, MI. Entitled "Wireless Communications for Vehicle Safety: Radio Link Performance and Wireless Connectivity Methods," it was authored by Brian Gallagher and Hidehiko Akatsuka, of Denso International America, Inc. and Hideaki Suzuki, of the Denso Corp.

"Denso has built and tested such technology to assess the effectiveness of such systems in real-world scenarios," said Doug Patton, senior vice president of marketing and engineering at Denso International America. "Denso has also provided data regarding tested countermeasures and ideas for improvement of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside communications systems."

Gallagher and Akatsuka are engineers at Denso's Labs in Vista, Calif. and Suzuki is based in Japan. Denso International America is the North American headquarters for Denso Corporation, a supplier of advanced technology, systems and components.