Wireless communication system getting tested on the field for a racing driverless vehicle

Last monday, the group of PhD students from CARS Center involved in the development of the wireless communication and remote telemetry systems for a driverless racing vehicle was on the field. Marco Malinverno, Giuseppe Avino, Stefano Feraco and Francesco Raviglione tested novel wireless telemetry and communication system at AeroClub Torino, under the supervision of professors Amati, Casetti and Chiasserini from Politecnico di Torino.

The tests aimed at assessing the performance and the reliability of the system, which will enable, in the near future:

-the possibility to perform real-time, Voice-over-IP, communication between the vehicle and the box, and let the team members working at the box to call each other and the vehicle by relying on a custom PBX system

-the possibility to perform remote monitoring of all the vehicle parameters directly from the box

The usage of a high-power, Wi-Fi based system, provided an extended open air radio range of more than 700 m (it was tested up to 700 m due to space limitation, but it is envisioned to reach more than 1 km).

The communication with a reinforced concrete wall in between was instead providing a maximum distance of around 500 m between the vehicle and the box, proving the resilience of the system.

Despite the high transmission power, the energy consumption remains limited thanks to the usage of embedded boards, which can be integrated inside the vehicle and supplied with a standard 12V power supply.