Part I – Vehicle-to-Vehicle Antennas for ITS Trials

Interest in Connected Car applications is growing rapidly, along with increased activity surrounding Intelligent Transportation Services (ITS) trials using DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) technology at 5.9 GHz. These networks and trials are being used for Smart Highway projects ranging from Collision Avoidance to Truck Parking to Tolling.

Antennas made by Mobile Mark have been installed in a number of ongoing Connected Car trials with various combinations of GPS, Cellular and DSRC. According to Ken Lukowski, VP of Sales, Mobile Mark, “We are proud and excited that so many Mobile Mark antennas have been used in Intelligent Transportation System trials across the country. From glass mount antennas for passenger vehicle, to multiband surface mount antennas for buses to single-band DSRC antennas for motorcycles, these antennas have been an integral part of the trials to prove out the ITS network capabilities.”

Communication channels in the ITS trials breakdown into two categories: V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) and V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure). Mobile Mark Antenna for ITS and Connected Car applications are available for both V2V and V2I installations.

For Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications in private cars, glass-mount antennas are a convenient way to add connected car applications to the ITS trails. A DSRC-only glass-mount antenna and a combination DSRC & GPS glass-mount antenna are currently available from Mobile Mark. These glass-mount antennas are a useful addition to the Connected Car trials since so many car owners are reluctant to drill holes in their car roofs to install surface mount antennas.

The glass-mount antennas for Connected Car applications can be mounted on either the front windshield or back window. The electrical design on these antennas accommodates the installation location so that the antennas do not need to be mounted on a metal surface. The newest version of these antennas can now be outfitted with GLONASS coverage as well as GPS.

In addition to the glass-mount antennas, Mobile Mark also manufactures a number of other antenna styles that can be used for the ITS trials. In particular, antennas are available for other types of vehicles such as trucks, buses and motorcycles.

Many trucks and buses will already be using a fleet management system to monitor their exact locations and to communicate that information back to a central monitoring station. This type of system requires both GPS and Cellular capability. Adding DSRC to the mix allows the vehicles to become active participants in the Intelligent Transportation System trials.

Mobile Mark offers several antenna models capable of covering multiple wireless applications. The SMW Series, in particular, can be configured for DSRC, Cellular, GPS & GLONASS. The Cellular element is extremely broad banded, covering 694-960 & 1710-3700 MHz. This frequency range covers all global cellular systems. As a result, these antennas are ready for ITS trials anywhere in the world.

Mobile Mark can even provide a wireless connection for small vehicles, such as a motorcycle. The various wireless elements can be combined, or installed separately to maintain a small profile.

For Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications, Mobile Mark also offers many antenna solutions. These antenna options are discussed in Part II of this series.
About Mobile Mark, Inc.

Mobile Mark’s global headquarters are located near Chicago, IL. The headquarters location includes research facilities and a manufacturing plant. An additional manufacturing and sales facility is located near Birmingham, UK.

Mobile Mark, Inc. designs and manufactures a variety of antennas from site to mobile and device antennas for 600 MHz – 9 GHz. Applications include GPS Tracking & Fleet Management, Cellular GSM/CDMA, LTE, WiMAX, WiFi, RFID, Public Safety, Military and Machine-to-Machine (M2M). Engineering and custom design services are available through Mobile Mark. Additional information on Mobile Mark’s DSRC antennas for Connected Car applications is available on the website: mobilemark.com

Contact:
Eleanor Sylvan, VP Marketing
Mobile Mark, Inc.
Tel: 847-671-6690
esylvan@mobilemark.com
mobilemark.com