Volkswagen is testing a car that will send and receive information via Wi-Fi to a muni wireless network or Wi-Fi enabled deivce. The idea is that as you are driving in a city, the car can obtain location-based information about car parks, restaurants, movie theaters, clubs and other points of interest. This assumes that there is either a citywide Wi-Fi network in place or a large Wi-Fi hotzone. The specially outfitted Volkswagen Tiguan is also designed to communicate with any other Wi-Fi enabled device such as an iPhone or a laptop.
Recently, auto makers have been testing vehicles that communicate not just via Wi-Fi, but also with road warning systems. The European Union recently allocated 30 MHz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band dedicated to road and emergency communications. The goal is to be able to warn vehicles of accidents in tunnels before people dirve into the tunnels, dangerous road conditions (ice, pile ups), etc.
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