As one of the road-vehicle communication media, the infrared beacon (IR beacon) has played a significant role in Japanese VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication Systems) since 1996. It is used for providing or receiving traffic information between RSU (Road-Side Unit) and OBU (On-Board Unit). Requirements regarding lane-by-lane communications especially for downlink are recently increasing from TICS (Transport Information and Control Systems) applications, so that UTMS (Universal Traffic Management Society of Japan) has started the research work for developing next-generation IR beacon and finished creating the draft specifications. (A*)
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