Mercedes tests Wi-Fi for cars

• Car-to-car communication developed by Merc
• Cars can warn other vehicles of dangers
• Production cars expected in 2015

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Mercedes-Benz is planning a new generation of cars that 'talk' to each other to warn of danger ahead.

The technology, called 'Car-to-Car Communication', links cars to each other by means of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network). Think of it as Wi-Fi for cars.

Whenever hard braking occurs, the Electronic Stability Programme is triggered, or the hazard warning lights are switched on, the car sends a message to its neighbours to warn of the potential accident black spot. An audible warning and a message on the dashboard inform the drivers of other vehicles within range about the possible danger.

In rural areas, the range of these messages is 1-2km, although this can drop to just a few hundred metres in built-up city streets.

A four-year-long test programme, shared among all the big German manufacturers (Audi, BMW, Mercedes and VW), begins this autumn and will test the system using a fleet of 1000 cars. Even once this test has been completed, it's likely to be some time before 'Car-to-Car' appears on production models. Mercedes-Benz expects to put the system into production between 2015 and 2020.

The intention is that many manufacturers will launch the system at the same time, with a single standard for the system across Europe.