The Vehicle On-Board Equipment (OBE) provides the vehicle-based sensory, processing, storage, and communications functions that support efficient, safe, and convenient travel. The Vehicle OBE includes general capabilities that apply to passenger cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Many of these capabilities (e.g., see the Vehicle Safety service packages) apply to all vehicle types including personal vehicles, commercial vehicles, emergency vehicles, transit vehicles, and maintenance vehicles. From this perspective, the Vehicle OBE includes the common interfaces and functions that apply to all motorized vehicles. The radio(s) supporting V2V and V2I communications are a key component of the Vehicle OBE. Both one-way and two-way communications options support a spectrum of information services from basic broadcast to advanced personalized information services. Route guidance capabilities assist in formulation of an optimal route and step by step guidance along the travel route. Advanced sensors, processors, enhanced driver interfaces, and actuators complement the driver information services so that, in addition to making informed mode and route selections, the driver travels these routes in a safer and more consistent manner. This physical object supports all six levels of driving automation as defined in SAE J3016. Initial collision avoidance functions provide 'vigilant co-pilot' driver warning capabilities. More advanced functions assume limited control of the vehicle to maintain lane position and safe headways. In the most advanced implementations, this Physical Object supports full automation of all aspects of the driving task, aided by communications with other vehicles in the vicinity and in coordination with supporting infrastructure subsystems.
'Vehicle Emergency Notification' provides the capability for drivers or collision detection sensors to report an emergency and summon assistance. It gathers data from on-board collision detection sensors, provides a mechanism for the driver to summon assistance, and includes a communications capability to report the collision including indicators of collision severity, the number of passengers involved, and information about the vehicle that may affect the response.
'Vehicle Location Determination' receives current location of the vehicle and provides this information to vehicle applications that use the location information to provide ITS services.
'Vehicle Safety Monitoring' monitors critical components of the vehicle and warns the driver of safety issues. These capabilities are provided by on-board sensors that monitor vehicle condition and performance, including steering, braking, acceleration, emissions, fuel economy, engine performance, etc.
This functional object can also monitor the driver's condition and warn the driver of potential safety issues. It includes sensors and behavior monitoring capabilities that assess the suitability of the driver (e.g., fitness and alertness) to assume or maintain manual control of the vehicle.