Flex, a global company that designs and builds intelligent products for a connected world, has collaborated with Savari, a provider of automotive V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) safety communication technology, to improve global traffic safety and efficiency.

As part of the partnership, both companies intend to enhance their existing design and manufacturing capabilities and will jointly develop Connected Car and Smart City V2X hardware and software connectivity solutions.

Flex Automotive president Chris Obey said: "Every year, there are 1.25 million traffic-related fatalities worldwide; in 2015, there were over 35 thousand in the US alone.

"V2X technology holds great potential for improving both transportation safety and efficiency in our cities and along our highways."

"We believe the answer to reducing these terrible statistics lies in vehicle connectivity, which is the primary focus of our work with Savari.

"We've been working with Savari on hardware design and small-scale manufacturing for the past year, and now we are expanding our work to include infrastructure development for smart city technology trials and new vehicle connectivity solutions, furthering our strategic focus on connected cars and autonomous vehicles."

V2X technology enables communication between a vehicle and anything in the realistic environment, which includes other vehicles (Vehicle-to-Vehicle, or V2V), surrounding infrastructure (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure, or V2I) and even pedestrians (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian, Vehicle-to-Phone, or V2P).

It allows vehicles to communicate with each other through a wireless exchange of data, with the objective of improving safety, reducing traffic congestion, and improving the overall travel and transportation environment.

On the other hand, V2I technology enables the wireless exchange of data between vehicles and roadway infrastructure, such as e-tolling, intersection safety, speed management, transit safety and operations, and work-zone or low-bridge warnings.

V2I incorporates algorithms that recognise high-risk situations while they are developing and responding to driver warnings and countermeasures.

Savari CEO Ravi Puvvala said: "V2X technology holds great potential for improving both transportation safety and efficiency in our cities and along our highways.

"By partnering with Flex, with its global footprint and Sketch-to-Scale services, we are accelerating the development and deployment schedule of our industry-leading V2X solutions for the latest CVP rollouts and other installations.

“Having been proven in numerous DOT trials, our V2X solutions deliver a positive impact on vehicular safety and smart city infrastructure."

V2P technology enables pedestrians and bicyclists to be active participants in a V2X environment by using their smart-phone to send and receive alerts.