Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) is a technology used in Japan for delivering

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

and

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel ...

information to

road vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles ( trains, trams), ...

drivers. It provides simple maps showing information about traffic jams, travel time, and road work - usually relevant to your location and usually incorporating infrared beacons. It can be compared with the European

TMC TMC may stand for: Companies and brands * Thinking Machines Corporation, a defunct supercomputer company * Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese automobile manufacturer *Transportation Management Center, a division of American shipping company C.H. ...

technology. VICS is transmitted using: * FM multiplex broadcasting (uses DARC). With this method, you have to manually select road conditions on-screen. *

Infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

beacons over Japan's highways and urban roads. With this method, road conditions automatically pop up. *

Microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different fre ...

s in the

ISM band The ISM radio bands are portions of the radio spectrum reserved internationally for industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) purposes, excluding applications in telecommunications. Examples of applications for the use of radio frequency (RF) en ...

. It is an application of ITS. The VICS information can be displayed on the car navigation unit at 3 levels: # Level-1: Simple text data # Level-2: In form of simple diagrams # Level-3: Data superimposed on the map displayed on navigation unit (e.g., traffic congestion data) Information transmitted generally includes

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic d ...

data, data on availability of service areas (SA) and

parking area A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

s (PA), information on

road works Roadworks (called road work or road construction in the United States) occur when part of the road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorize ...

and traffic collisions. Some advanced navigation units might utilize this data for route calculation (e.g., choosing a route to avoid congestion) or the driver might use his/her own discretion while using this information.

External links

VICS official website
Information systems Warning systems Road transport in Japan Intelligent transportation systems Japanese inventions

See also

External links