Flex, the Sketch-to-Scale™ solutions provider that designs and builds intelligent products for a connected world, and Savari, Inc., a leader in automotive vehicle-to-everything (V2X) safety communication technology, are on a mission to improve global traffic safety and efficiency.

 

As part of a new collaboration that expands on their existing design and manufacturing partnership, Flex and Savari will jointly develop connected car and smart city V2X hardware and software connectivity solutions.

 

V2X technology enables communication between a vehicle and anything in the environment that may affect it, including other vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle, or V2V), surrounding infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure, or V2I) and even pedestrians (vehicle-to-pedestrian/vehicle-to-phone, or “V2P”).

 

V2V technology enables vehicles to communicate with each other through wireless exchange of data, with the objective of improving safety, reducing traffic congestion and improving the overall travel and transportation environment.

 

V2I technology enables the wireless exchange of data between vehicles and roadway infrastructure, with key applications including e-tolling, intersection safety, speed management, transit safety and operations, and work-zone or low-bridge warnings. This technology has the potential to transform infrastructure equipment—including stoplights and weather information systems—into “smart” infrastructure by incorporating algorithms that recognize high-risk situations while they are developing, and responding with driver warnings and countermeasures.

 

V2P technology enables pedestrians and bicyclists to be active participants in a V2X environment by using their smartphone to send and receive alerts, signaling transit infrastructure like crosswalk signals for individuals needing more time, or sending alerts to cars that a pedestrian is in the crosswalk or a bicyclist is in the bike lane.

 

Chris Obey, President of Automotive at Flex, said, “Every year, there are 1.25 million traffic-related fatalities worldwide;* in 2015, there were over 35,000 in the U.S. alone.** We believe the answer to reducing these terrible statistics lies in vehicle connectivity, which is the primary focus of our work with Savari.”

 

Obey continued, “We’ve been working with Savari on hardware design and small scale manufacturing for the past year, and now we are expanding our work to include infrastructure development for smart city technology trials and new vehicle connectivity solutions, furthering our strategic focus on connected cars and autonomous vehicles.”

 

“V2X technology holds great potential for improving both transportation safety and efficiency in our cities and along our highways,” said Ravi Puvvala, CEO at Savari. “By partnering with Flex—with its global footprint and Sketch-to-Scale services—we are accelerating the development and deployment schedule of our industry-leading V2X solutions for the latest CVP rollouts and other installations. Having been proven in numerous DOT trials, our V2X solutions deliver a positive impact on vehicular safety and smart city infrastructure.”

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a proposed rule last December “that would advance the deployment of connected vehicle technologies throughout the U.S. light vehicle fleet,” by enabling V2V technology on all new light-duty vehicles, “enabling a multitude of new crash-avoidance applications that, once fully deployed, could prevent hundreds of thousands of crashes every year by helping vehicles ‘talk’ to each other.”

 

*World Health Organization: “Global status report on road safety 2015“
**U.S. Department of Transportation: “2015 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview“—August 2016