Issues of in-vehicle ITS information management

This paper presents issues associated with the introduction into road vehicles of multiple information sources related to the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). Also, an argument is made for an In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS) to manage messages from the associated Intelligent Transportation System Services, as well as other information to be presented to the driver. The IVIS serves as the interface between the driver and all the information sources, including both input from and information display to the driver. Increasingly, aftermarket systems, such as routing and navigation aids, collision avoidance warning systems, yellow pages, can be added to vehicles to aid in travel and/or the conduct of business in the vehicle. The installation of multiple devices, each with its own driver interface, increases the likelihood of driver distraction and thus the risk of an accident. However, introduction of an IVIS raises a number of issues which relate to things such as proprietary messages, message prioritization across devices from different manufacturers, and safe access to the vehicle manufacturer`s proprietary data bus. These issues are the focus of this paper. Sections 1 and 2 of this paper present short summarizes of the efforts in a variety of areas related to in-vehicle information systems. In the first two sections, a summary of two Department of Transportation (DOT) initiatives is followed by a description of US standards development efforts. Next is a brief consideration of institutional, jurisdictional and legal issues associated with in-vehicle systems and the accompanying infrastructure. Section 3 of the paper is devoted to systems integration and driver interface engineering issues