Groupe Renault is recruiting fleets to take part in an EU project autonomous vehicle project in France.

SCOOP is a pilot project for the deployment of cooperative intelligent transportation system and facilitates trials of future vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) connectivity solutions under real-world driving conditions.

It is carried out alongside a range of partners in France, including the French Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, regional authorities, infrastructure operators, universities and research centres.

Groupe Renault is working with SCOOP to test new technology on its Renault Mégane vehicles.

Christine Tissot, Renault SCOOP project manager, said: "Our main goal is to offer our fleet customers cars that are safer on the roads and improve the flow of traffic.

"These vehicles ‘talk’ to each other and warn each other in real time of any hazards, slow traffic or accidents on the road ahead.

"Infrastructure firms like French motorway operator SANEF also send information to compatible cars about traffic, roadworks, speed limits, accidents and upcoming hazards."

The fleet of SCOOP-enabled Méganes uses a range of technology which will be fitted to tomorrow’s autonomous, connected cars.

This includes sensors and computers that gather and analyse vehicle data such as speed, steering wheel angle, possible tyre grip problems in relation to the weather, windscreen wiper operation and deployment of airbags.

If a problem is detected, the car’s on-board computer automatically sends a warning message to other SCOOP-enabled vehicles and to units positioned along motorways.

These units then notify emergency services if a major incident is detected. In the pre-deployment phase, the units will be installed along 2,000 kilometres of roads in the greater Paris region, along the A4 motorway, in the Isère department in eastern France and on the Bordeaux ring road and in Brittany.

The on-board computer, which issues the warning messages, uses a wireless communication protocol that harnesses latest-generation ITS G5 technology (Intelligent Transportation Systems), operating on a dedicated frequency (5.9GHz).

These systems have been developed for moving objects and offer a range of up to 1,000 metres.

The protocol systematically verifies the authenticity of each message and operates quickly in real time to avoid any collisions. It also guarantees that data is processed and held anonymously to protect users’ privacy.

The EU’s SCOOP project got under way in 2014 and has now entered an active trial phase thanks to 1,000 Renault Méganes produced at its Palencia facility in Spain.

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