On the 15th May in Paris at a media event, the 5GAA will be showcasing a broad range of live demonstrations drawing on connected vehicle technology that will demonstrate, among other things, how the field of connected vehicles has evolved and what the future looks like.
In a media briefing providing a taster of what to expect, Maxime Flament, CTO of 5GAA called the association “the place where the automotive [industry] meets the telecom,” touching upon cross-industry collaboration that has brought together MNOs, vehicle manufacturers, OEMs and others to puzzle over the question of what connected vehicles truly looks like.
For an association founded in 2016 with eight founding companies to today, with more than 110 members, the 5GAA has shown in its own growth that there is appetite for connected vehicles and the benefits they are poised to bring.
It is exploring connected vehicles from the perspective of improving the efficiency of traffic and safety on the road, said Flament.
“From the most simple kinds of exchange like local hazard and traffic information, to the more challenging [use cases] where we start sending information about dynamic objects around the vehicles,” he explained.
Demonstration one: deploying non-terrestrial networks
Among the demonstrations that attendees can look forward to at the event includes, for the first time, deployment of vehicles connected over non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
“Satellite communications came to our attention approximately three to five years ago,” explained Olaf Eckert from the BMW Group. “At that time, satellite communication was costly, proprietary, and required large terminals for satellite reception.”
Fortunately, driving down the cost of satellite has meant it has become a more viable solution for ensuring coverage in places where terrestrial infrastructure has gaps; a definition the 5GAA uses. In a technical report published in September 2024 the association outlined its non-terrestrial network roadmap in which it discusses future deployment, use cases, and the specifications of automotive satellite antennas and spectrum requirements.
Eckert said that terrestrial devices, modems and antennas can be adapted to NTN use cases “with just reasonable modifications”, offering a significant advantage to encouraging adoption and keeping costs down.
There will be four in-vehicle demonstrations of cars connected over non-terrestrial networks which will deliver hazard warnings and messaging via satellite. There will be two demonstrations on public roads, “highlighting the vision of how NTN can support ubiquitous automotive connectivity with seamless in-vehicle integration,” said Georg Shmitt from BMW Group.
Tim Daly, from Viasat, whose satellite constellation will be used to provide connectivity, said that he saw non-terrestrial networks being rolled out for the automotive industry, “starting with narrowband use cases, focusing on safety and positioning, and then transitioning to the wide-band data usage”.
Demonstration two: 5G-V2X direct technology
Another demonstration will showcase a live traffic demo of 5G-V2X direct technology. 5G-V2X uses 5G New Radio (NR) to allow communication between vehicles and their surroundings. V2X refers to ‘vehicle-to-everything’ so this encompasses other vehicles, pedestrians, and infrastructure.
In recognising that 5G-V2X was reaching “maturity,” explained Dr. Benazouz Bradai from Valeo, it was important that the 5GAA recognise it as a core component of connected vehicles. As a result, 5GAA’s work on it dates back to 2018, with an open statement from automotive manufacturers confirming their focus on 5G-V2X in 2023 to today, where the demonstration will be shown in Paris.
The demonstration itself will involve two vehicles sharing data collected by their sensors. In the scenario, both vehicles will be at an intersection. Vehicle one, which is positioned right of vehicle two, will detect a pedestrian crossing and send this information to vehicle two so it can adapt its behaviour accordingly – for example, if a pedestrian walks across and it cannot be detected using local sensors.
Demonstration three: V2N technologies
Finally, 5GAA will display V2N (vehicle-to-network) technologies which ensures the flow of data and messages between vehicles.
The demonstration in question will show how V2N technologies can be used to improve road user safety. It will use 5GAA Reference Architecture which facilitates the exchange of messages across different mobile network operators’ platforms in an open ecosystem.
In discussing a concrete example of where V2N can improve road safety, Pascal Peguret from HARMAN spoke about emergency braking: “Imagine for a second you’re driving a car on the highway and someone emergency brakes in front of you … imagine that car is far away and behind a truck, so you can’t see it.
“What this use case does is that it warns you of emergency braking so that you can brake and avoid an accident.”
V2N should be positioned as a complimentary technology to C-2VX, not a competitor, said Peguret, because C-2VX requires hardware that means it will take longer to deploy, whereas V2N can be deployed and improve road safety today.
“The C-2VX offers much more latency and it’s completely independent of the mobile network, therefore I would say this is the future,” he said. “This will allow not only warnings but help cars [with] making the right decision … but it requires hardware and it’s taking a long time to deploy, and therefore we’re developing V2N use cases …which can use existing technologies [in] cars today.”
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