<s>
Vehicle	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
integration	I-Application
(	O
VII	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
initiative	O
fostering	O
research	O
and	O
applications	O
development	O
for	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
technologies	O
directly	O
linking	O
road	O
vehicles	O
to	O
their	O
physical	O
surroundings	O
,	O
first	O
and	O
foremost	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
improve	O
road	O
safety	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technology	O
draws	O
on	O
several	O
disciplines	O
,	O
including	O
transport	O
engineering	O
,	O
electrical	O
engineering	O
,	O
automotive	O
engineering	O
,	O
and	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Planes	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
use	O
ground-based	O
beacons	B-Protocol
for	O
automated	O
guidance	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
autopilot	O
to	O
fly	O
the	O
plane	O
without	O
human	O
intervention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vehicle	B-Application
infrastructure	I-Application
integration	I-Application
is	O
a	O
branch	O
of	O
engineering	O
that	O
deals	O
with	O
the	O
study	O
and	O
application	O
of	O
directly	O
linking	O
road	O
vehicles	O
to	O
their	O
physical	O
surroundings	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
improve	O
road	O
safety	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
the	O
roadway	O
infrastructure	O
,	O
allowing	O
for	O
complete	O
,	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
traffic	O
information	O
for	O
the	O
entire	O
network	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
better	O
queue	O
management	O
and	O
feedback	O
to	O
vehicles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
could	O
be	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
data	O
acquired	O
via	O
beacons	B-Protocol
along	O
a	O
roadway	O
or	O
stored	O
at	O
a	O
centralised	O
database	O
and	O
distributed	O
to	O
all	O
VII-equipped	O
vehicles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VII	O
will	O
enable	O
precise	O
traffic-signal	O
coordination	O
by	O
tracking	O
vehicle	O
platoons	O
and	O
will	O
benefit	O
from	O
accurate	O
timing	O
by	O
drawing	O
on	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
traffic	O
data	O
covering	O
volume	O
,	O
density	O
and	O
turning	O
movements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Real-time	B-General_Concept
traffic	O
data	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
new	O
roadways	O
or	O
modification	O
of	O
existing	O
systems	O
as	O
the	O
data	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
provide	O
accurate	O
origin-destination	O
studies	O
and	O
turning-movement	O
counts	O
for	O
uses	O
in	O
transportation	O
forecasting	O
and	O
traffic	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
could	O
be	O
collectively	O
transmitted	O
to	O
road	O
users	O
for	O
in-vehicle	O
display	O
,	O
outlining	O
the	O
lowest	O
cost	O
,	O
shortest	O
distance	O
,	O
and/or	O
fastest	O
route	O
to	O
a	O
destination	O
on	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
conditions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Automatic	B-Application
registration	I-Application
plate	I-Application
recognition	I-Application
can	O
provide	O
high	O
levels	O
of	O
data	O
,	O
but	O
continuously	O
tracking	O
a	O
vehicle	O
through	O
a	O
corridor	O
is	O
a	O
difficult	O
task	O
with	O
existing	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
either	O
case	O
,	O
the	O
costs	O
and	O
potential	O
for	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
in	O
the	O
software	O
will	O
likely	O
be	O
high	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
of	O
the	O
current	O
research	O
and	O
experimentation	O
is	O
conducted	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
where	O
coordination	O
is	O
ensured	O
through	O
the	O
Vehicle	B-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
Integration	I-Application
Consortium	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
automobile	O
manufacturers	O
(	O
Ford	O
,	O
General	O
Motors	O
,	O
Daimler	O
Chrysler	O
,	O
Toyota	O
,	O
Nissan	O
,	O
Honda	O
,	O
Volkswagen	O
,	O
BMW	O
)	O
,	O
IT	O
suppliers	O
,	O
U.S.	O
Federal	O
and	O
state	O
transportation	O
departments	O
,	O
and	O
professional	O
associations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Informing	O
system	O
operators	O
of	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
congestion	O
,	O
weather	O
conditions	O
and	O
incidents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Providing	O
operators	O
with	O
information	O
on	O
corridor	O
capacity	O
for	O
real-time	B-General_Concept
management	O
,	O
planning	O
and	O
provision	O
of	O
corridor-wide	O
advisories	O
to	O
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
