Social networking for cars

German car maker Daimler is testing a “social networking” system on 120 network-linked cars in Germany.
The field trial is testing Daimler’s Car to X, or C2X, system on 120 vehicles in Germany’s Rhine-Main region until the end of the year. The C2X system uses a network link on each vehicle that allows vehicles to share information with each other and with traffic infrastructure such as traffic lights.
The C2X system uses GPS and a wireless local area network, or WLAN, for cars. A vehicle’s position and data on its speed and acceleration are reported to the network. The network in turn shares traffic information with the vehicle, such as the suggested speeds for avoiding red lights and alternate routes for avoiding traffic jams. Data is also shared with traffic infrastructure such as traffic lights, which can adjust the timing of red lights to ensure more efficient traffic flow.