V-COM: Harmony Between Humans and Trucks

This project report highlights the design developments made by the Team Volvo students of ME310 at Stanford University and Blekinge Institute of Technology during the 2018-2019 academic year. The corporate partner for this project is Volvo
Group. The project prompt is centered around enhancing human vehicle interaction with a critical focus on connectivity, electrification and automation.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 59% of all truck accidents occur within city arterial roads, and 83% of fatalities associated with truck accidents are individuals outside the truck. Thus, truck drivers have a need exists to ensure the safety of vulnerable road users by communicating their driving patterns and areas of safety to the road users moving around them. The team's mission by spring, 2019, was to increase safety for vulnerable road users by using dynamic lights and sound to warn them of dangerous areas around trucks. These dynamic lights and sounds are triggered by ultrasonic sensors which detect vertically and horizontally proximal vulnerable road users. They are housed inside a panel structure which is lightweight and easily affixes to the side of a truck. The full system is called "V-COM" and includes sensing, computation, and communication components. The team's process and findings are included herein.