Verizon Business has officially launched Edge Transportation Exchange, a mobile-network vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication platform for connected vehicles, with multiple customers already signed on.
Following a successful 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) joint demonstration, the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), Rutgers University Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT), and Volkswagen Group of America (VW) have begun using the platform.
The Edge Transportation Exchange solution enables vehicles to communicate and share important data with each other, pedestrians, and connected roadway infrastructure such as traffic signals, in near real time. The 5GAA joint demonstration included use cases such as informing drivers about vulnerable road users, dangerous weather and roadway conditions, and traffic signal phase and timing at intersections.
In addition to these features, Edge Transportation Exchange serves as an API-driven platform for collaborative innovation between automakers, technology developers, and municipal governments, who can leverage the mobile-network V2X technology to scale existing connected solutions or innovate new technology for road-user safety and satisfaction. Development and collaboration is convenient and centralised through the Verizon ThingSpace IoT platform.
“Cars are evolving from mechanical vehicles to software-defined mobile devices with the ability to leverage incredible connected technology. Edge Transportation Exchange leverages that technology to give automakers, governments, and tech developers a robust platform for building out the cellular-connected future of transportation – with visibility and reliability for all road users top of mind,” said Shamik Basu, Vice President, Strategic Connectivity & IoT, Verizon Business.
The integrated solution combines Verizon’s 5G and LTE mobile networks, Verizon 5G Edge mobile Edge compute, and geolocation technology enhanced with Verizon Hyper Precise Location. It utilises a virtual architecture that reduces the need for costly physical roadside radio units, alleviating financial burdens for DOTs and municipal governments. The data and communication capabilities from these combined technologies and environments contribute to a feature-rich, mobile network-based V2X ecosystem that users can leverage for near term applications and long term innovation at scale.
ACA was first to sign on as a platform partner for Edge Transportation Exchange, advancing from trial use to production. ACA is Arizona’s economic development organisation, working together with the University of Arizona, the Arizona Department of Transportation, and the Maricopa County Department of Transportation and state and local agencies to develop new use cases and leverage existing ones – including pedestrian detection and upcoming work zone notifications – to make Arizona roadway users safer and better connected.
DelDOT is conducting technical testing across multiple communication technologies and architectures to optimise the delivery of V2X messages. Primary use cases being studied include red-light warnings, water-on-road warnings, and vulnerable road user (VRU) alerts to drivers.
VW will explore use cases such as pedestrian awareness and payment applications for expedited tolling.
Rutgers University CAIT is deploying Edge Transportation Exchange at the DataCity Smart Mobility Testing Ground, a collaborative program with Middlesex County and in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The 2.5-mile living laboratory is equipped with self-driving-grade sensing, computing, and V2X communication technologies to facilitate the testing of Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) and Smart City technologies.
Rutgers CAIT is using the platform to further develop virtualised cellular messaging architectures for cost-effective support of multiple CAV applications, including intersection safety, congestion mitigation, queue warning, and incident and work zone management.
Furthermore, Rutgers CAIT is researching school-zone safety applications, utilising Edge Transportation Exchange to help deliver near real-time alerts to pedestrians and incoming vehicles at intersections with heavy school crossings, improving safety for K-12 students, their families, and crossing guards.
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