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Bosch has developed a new cloud-based driver warning system that alerts drivers within seconds if they are going in the wrong direction.

The system was designed in response to a study that found that nearly one-third of all wrong-way accidents took place within 500 metres of the vehicle entering the incorrect lane.

Conventional radio broadcasts often take minutes to warn the driver, which may often prove too late to prevent an accident. The new cloud-based warning system, on the other hand, provides a warning within around 10 seconds. The software can be integrated for a relatively small cost into existing in-car apps and infotainment systems.

Bosch's new wrong-way driver warning function works by comparing the actual vehicle movements with the permitted direction of travel on the lane in which the vehicle is travelling. It uses a web-based database of permitted lane directions for this comparison. If there is a difference between the actual vehicle and lane direction, the system immediately alerts the driver and oncoming vehicles.

The system regularly sends non-identifiable vehicle position data to the cloud. The data is stored in a central location and analysed online. The data pooled gets denser with more connected vehicles, which means that drivers can be more comprehensively warned of wrong-way drivers. However, this would require an unbroken internet connection, which could be delivered through the vehicle's infotainment solution or by using a smartphone connected via Bosch mySPIN or some other integration solution.

Once launched, the new system will be capable of being integrated into existing apps such as infotainment solutions by automakers and Bosch's myDriveAssist. In the medium term, it could also be integrated into eCall and other standardised emergency call concepts.

Bosch plans to make the system available as a cloud service in 2016.