Road User Exposure from ITS-5.9 GHz Vehicular Connectivity

This study addressed an important but not yet thoroughly investigated topic regarding human exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) generated by vehicular connectivity. In particular, the study assessed, by means of computational dosimetry, the RF-EMF exposure in road users near a car equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication antennas. The exposure scenario consisted of a 3D numerical model of a car with two V2V antennas, each fed with 1 W, operating at 5.9 GHz and an adult human model to simulate the road user near the car. The RF-EMF dose absorbed by the human model was calculated as the specific absorption rate (SAR), that is, the RF-EMF power absorbed per unit of mass. The highest SAR was observed in the skin of the head (34.7 mW/kg) and in the eyes (15 mW/kg); the SAR at the torso (including the genitals) and limbs was negligible or much lower than in the head and eyes. The SAR over the whole body was 0.19 mW/kg. The SAR was always well below the limits of human exposure in the 100 kHz-6 GHz band established by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The proposed approach can be generalized to assess RF-EMF exposure in different conditions by varying the montage/number of V2V antennas and considering human models of different ages.

Automated summary

This study used computational dosimetry to assess the exposure of road users to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) generated by vehicle connectivity. The highest exposure was observed in the head and eyes, while the exposure in the torso and limbs was negligible. The overall exposure was well below the limits established by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).