Nov. 15, 2013—The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology heard testimony on Wednesday concerning dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology.
DSCRC allows vehicles to communicate with each other and other roadside infrastructure to notify drivers of potential hazards.
John Kenney, principal researcher at Toyota InfoTechnology Center in Silicon Valley, discussed the opportunities and challenges associated with DSRC with the committee.
“Toyota recognizes and fully appreciates the need to find new and innovative ways to maximize the effective use of the limited spectrum that is available,” Kenney said according to reports.
He also warned that sharing the technology too early can jeopardize its potential.
“We are not conceptually opposed to sharing the 5.9 GHz spectrum with unlicensed devices,” Kenney said. “However, we also believe that the creation of a sharing framework, or the implementation of sharing rules, should not occur unless and until a viable spectrum sharing technology is identified and testing verifies that there is no harmful interference.”
Kenney warned that if the technology is pushed forward and results in delayed or missed driver warnings, it makes the technology essentially useless moving forward.
“Toyota is committed to helping validate a technical sharing solution once one has been identified. But we’re not there yet and it’s going to take a bit more time to see if we can get there,” Kenney said.
