There's no doubting that CB radios are useful tools, and not only on U.S.-style trucks. If you think that the advent of smartphones and LTE spelled their downfall, you'll soon be put straight by Continental AG. The company wants to open up new possibilities for networking, information flow and road safety by hauling this traditional technology into the digital era.

CB radio 2.0 is based on an app called VoicR that helps users record short voice messages, for example, and broadcast them to others nearby or users all over the world. Just like its analog predecessor, there's a choice between predefined public or private channels. This direct communication between networked users is meant to help service providers respond to customers' wishes both quickly and accurately. Taxi drivers, for example, can use the app to communicate with other road users for a heads-up on traffic conditions. Logistics companies can pass on requests to drivers with free space in their hold and fleet managers can respond to urgent requests more quickly. Continental's vision in developing the VoicR app is to overhaul forty-year-old analog CB radio technology by transforming it into an ad hoc social network for exchanging location-based voice messages in real time.

Video