According to the U.S. DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, between January and September 2021, the U.S. experienced the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2006. Last year, an estimated 31,720 people nationwide lost their lives in car crashes that may have been preventable. While these findings focus on incidents in the U.S., automotive and traffic safety is a global issue. There are already many plans and strategies in place designed to help make our roads safer, which include plans to leverage advanced technology and connected solutions to help improve vehicle safety.

At HARMAN, helping ensure driver and passenger safety has always been our top priority when it comes to developing our end-to-end solutions for automotive connectivity and superior mobility experiences. In honor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Safe Driving Month, take a closer look at some of our latest solutions designed to help keep you safe on the road…

HARMAN Savari MECWAVE: A More Connected and Better-Informed In-Car Experience

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Announced at our HARMAN EXPLORE: Automotive Restart event earlier this year, HARMAN Savari MECWAVE is an industry-first, multi-access edge compute (MEC) software platform that operates with ultra-low latency to accelerate the deployment of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. Because traffic safety expands beyond just those in the car, it also extends V2X capabilities to non-V2X capable devices like bikes and scooters, as well as mobile and wearable devices.

The HARMAN Savari solution portfolio also includes two additional solutions. The first, HARMAN Savari StreetWAVE is a C-V2X roadside unit (RSU) that enables a critical communication framework between cars and a city’s infrastructure. With features including hybrid communication channels, capabilities to help alleviate traffic congestions, and more, HARMAN Savari StreetWAVE enhances traffic management and efficiency. The second, HARMAN Savari MobiWAVE is a wireless on-board unit that combines existing telematics control units (TCUs) with V2X services for a variety of additional safety applications, including mitigating weather-related traffic incidents, wrong-way driver notifications, pedestrian warnings, and other hi-risk scenarios.

With more cars on the road today than ever before, road safety remains top of mind, and smart city infrastructure has the potential to help create safer roads in the future. To enable a smart city environment, it is essential for vehicles on the road to be equipped with a V2X communication module and the supporting V2X software stack, which HARMAN supplies through our TCUs, Smart Antenna, and HARMAN Savari solution portfolio. We’re on a journey to turn every city into a smart city to help make commutes and road trips safer, more enjoyable, and efficient.

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ADAS: Stepping Stones for a Self-Driving Future

Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), have the potential to eliminate human error while driving, bringing us one step closer to a zero-accident future. At HARMAN, our ADAS solutions – including augmented reality platforms, external monitoring systems, E-mirrors, in-cabin monitoring systems, and Park Assist – are all designed to help drivers monitor blind spots, stay focused on the road, avoid in-car distractions, and ultimately make driving more intuitive and comfortable.

Embracing Virtual Tech for a Safer Reality

HARMAN’s Augmented Reality (AR) offerings expanded in February of this year with the acquisition of Apostera, an AR and mixed reality (MR) automotive technology company. Through a combination of AR, machine learning, computer vision, and sensor fusion, Apostera’s AR/MR solutions coupled with HARMAN’s own ADAS and digital cockpit portfolio, we can help bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds to help create safer roads and in-car experiences.

Vehicle safety impacts us all – whether we’re drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or cyclists. Helping improve car safety for all people remains top of mind for all our teams at HARMAN, during Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Safe Driving Month and the rest of the year. To read more about HARMAN’s connected car solutions that are designed with safety at the core, visit: https://www.harman.com/Automotive