Autotalks’ V2X chipsets can be used for vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) capabilities, which allow them to communicate with roadside units (RSUs) and to interface with road infrastructure objects such as traffic lights. This communication helps autonomous vehicles to obtain full knowledge of traffic light status and requests green light for a smooth intersection crossing, avoid hazards, and empowers the shuttles with lifesaving accident-prevention capabilities.

Driverless autonomous vehicles cannot afford any failure or uncertainty under any condition. In addition to vision-based sensors, which rely on AI training, V2X provides autonomous vehicles another information from the traffic light controller and other road-users. This contributes to more redundancy and thus safety.

Autotalks chipsets are designed for the highest reliability and security required from autonomous vehicles. The hardware and software adhere to the strictest automotive quality standards for maximal robustness.

The solution is available for purchase exclusively from Velodyne. It has already been deployed in multiple North American cities with upcoming installations in New Jersey and more deployments across the United States.

Velodyne have also announced a sales agreement with Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) to deploy its Intelligent Infrastructure Solution equipped with Velodyne’s Alpha Prime LiDAR sensors. CAIT will install the solution at multiple intersections in New Brunswick, New Jersey as part of the Middlesex County – Smart Mobility Testing Ground (MC-SMTG) project in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). This project will serve as a testbed for mobility data gathering, analysis, and sharing technologies that will help implement connected and autonomous vehicle systems in the future. CAIT selected the Velodyne solution after a rigorous vetting process, in which they tested other sensor solutions and competitive LiDAR systems.

Velodyne’s solution creates a real-time 3D map of roads and intersections, providing precise traffic monitoring and analytics. It can collect data in any lighting or weather condition – supporting 24/7 operation, 365 days a year. The solution advances safety through multimodal analytics that can detect various road users – including vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. It can predict, diagnose, and address road safety challenges – helping municipalities and other customers make informed decisions and take corrective action. It is more cost-effective, and easier to install, than radar- and camera-based systems. This lower price point is because a single LiDAR sensor installed on a traffic pole can cover an entire intersection or highway section (compared to radar- and camera-based systems, that typically need multiple sensors to cover the same area). The solution works with Velodyne’s Alpha Prime, Ultra Puck, Puck, and Velarray sensors.

Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors do not identify individuals’ facial characteristics – a growing concern for civic applications. LiDAR has an advantage in privacy over camera-only systems because it does not record sensitive information, such as hair and skin color.

NTI (National Technology Initiative) AutoNet project, managed by GLONASS Union non-commercial partnership, which was appointed by the Russian government, is spearheading the effort to introduce V2X technology to the domestic vehicle market and supports Euro NCAP initiative to add V2X to the vehicle safety rating starting 2024.

Sreda Solutions, a prominent provider in Russia’s wireless technology and automotive embedded systems market, launched its first V2XSmartCore (V2SC) software using Autotalks CRATON2 chipset.

Sreda’s V2SC product is the embedded software for On Board Units (OBUs) and Roadside Units (RSUs) based on ETSI V2X standards for ITS-G5 and C-V2X communication technologies. The V2SC software has been verified in four pilot projects in smart cities and on highways.

Sreda also offers the V2X Autonomous Vehicle Platform (V2AP) back-end software product which provides RSU device management, V2X data analytics and visualization capabilities.

Russia is moving quickly to adopt V2X technology. V2X tests have been recently launched in St. Petersburg and new V2X pilot tests are planned in Kaliningrad, in other regions and on highways later in 2021. OEMs and other partners will be invited to join these field tests. In addition, Russian representatives are in discussions with the pan-European C-Roads project on cross-border tests encompassing Russia and EU member states.

Since 2017, cars made by Audi have been able to warn each other about accidents, broken down vehicles, traffic jams, road ice, or limited visibility, a communication technology known as ‘car to X’. It analyzes various data for Local Hazard Information, including activation of Electronic Stabilization Control (ESC), rain and light sensors, windshield wipers, headlights, emergency calls, and airbag triggers.

Audi is the first manufacturer to use a patented solution from Swedish company NIRA Dynamics AB for this purpose. The two companies adapted this solution as a basis to develop the enhanced hazard alerts together with the Car.Software organization and HERE Technologies.

Within the car, the system can estimate the coefficient of friction between the tires and the road surface based on wheel slip. To calculate this, it uses chassis signals, such as wheel speed and acceleration values. It is already active in normal driving situations and not only during extreme situation when chassis control systems intervene. The sensor data is anonymized, both in the car itself and when transmitted to the cloud hosted by NIRA Dynamics AB. Aggregated data from many vehicles are then combined with metadata, such as current and historical weather information, and then transmitted by NIRA cloud to service provider HERE Technologies. When integrated with HERE location platform, the combined data intelligence represents the road network as a precise three-dimensional model.

Coming back to the vehicle, HERE servers send the warning information to those cars that are in or heading toward areas with poor conditions. The driver sees a warning in the Audi virtual cockpit or on the optional head-up display and can act accordingly.

Number of vehicles involved is a key success factor

The greater the number of vehicles that deliver the data, the better the system can learn, analyze, and create maps, and thereby inform or warn the drivers depending on the situation. This is the basic principle of swarm data and swarm intelligence – an area in which Audi has acquired extensive knowledge over the past years. . In 2021, more than 1.7 million vehicles from the Volkswagen Group in Europe will contribute data for this improved hazard information service, and this will increase to more than 3 million in 2022, creating a significant competitive advantage. The service is available in new models from Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT, Škoda, Porsche, Bentley, and Lamborghini.

Savari’s software and hardware technology will enhance HARMAN’s comprehensive automotive telematics and advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) capabilities, and expand the company’s strengths in 5G Edge, multi-access edge computing (MEC) and smart infrastructure solutions.

Savari deploys V2X sensor solutions and edge-based analytics for automotive and smart infrastructure, including Vehicle-to-Infrastructure, Vehicle-to-Phone for pedestrians and bicyclists, Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Infrastructure-to-Phone. Savari’s hardware and software are radio agnostic, designed to fit any standards-compliant radio.

Savari employees will join HARMAN upon closing of the deal, and will be integrated into HARMAN’s Automotive division, a tier one automotive supplier for connected car, car audio and connected vehicle services.

Led by CEO and co-Founder, Daniel ES Kim, AUTOCRYPT has garnered the attention of the automotive industry, providing end-to-end vehicle security for connected and autonomous vehicles and surrounding infrastructure. The company currently secures all smart roadways and highways in South Korea, totaling over 5000 kilometers.

Due to a rising demand in autonomous and electric vehicle security technology, AUTOCRYPT also announced the opening of its North American office, located in Toronto, Canada. The new branch will allow for AUTOCRYPT’s V2X and Plug&Charge security solutions to be more widely accessible to testbeds, OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and automotive software or service providers located in North America. The company is currently in talks with potential partners in the region and plans to begin active business operations in Q2. With its offices now in South Korea, China, Japan and Canada, AUTOCRYPT is also planning to expand into the United States and Europe in 2021.

A consortium led by Ford is developing an innovative predictive road safety tool which, using data from connected vehicles and intelligent roadside sensors, could help to make travel in towns and cities safer and easier.

Each year more than 1.3 million people are killed on roads around the world – around 3,700 every day – with road injuries the eighth leading cause of death globally . On top of the human impact, accidents also have significant financial consequences. The U.K. Department for Transport puts the annual economic cost of road incidents at more than £35 billion.

The Data-Driven Road Safety Tool will analyse information from connected vehicles, smart roadside sensors and local-authority data to predict the likely locations and possible root causes of potential road safety hotspots. The insights will enable cities to take pre-emptive action to address roads and junctions that pose the highest risks to road users.

Ford Mobility is working alongside partners including Oxfordshire County Council, AI sensor specialists Vivacity Labs, and leading academics from Loughborough University’s Transport Safety Research Centre, with support from Transport for London. The aim is to develop the tool into a solution that could benefit cities and road users around the world. The initiative has now received financial backing from the Innovate UK, the government-backed innovation fund.

Data-driven road safety

Ford has conducted extensive research into the opportunity for connected vehicles and predictive analytics to help improve road safety, Now, up to 700 passenger and commercial vehicles will be voluntarily connected across Oxfordshire and London as part of the 18-month project starting this summer.

Detailed telematics data from the fleet of vehicles – such as brake or accelerator pedal usage and steering wheel angle – will be analysed alongside information from up to 25 additional smart sensors to be provided in Oxfordshire by Vivacity Labs a specialist in traffic capture and classification, bringing the total number in use up to 100.

Vivacity’s roadside sensors employ machine learning algorithms to detect near-miss incidents and are able to analyse movement patterns of vulnerable road-users such as cyclists and pedestrians, as well as non-connected vehicles. All data shared by the sensors is anonymised with video feeds discarded at source, enabling safer roads without intruding on privacy.

Connected Vehicle Trials

The project follows two successful trials in London in which analysts and data scientists from Ford Mobility sampled more than 1 million miles of driving by connected vehicles to identify, analyse and provide detailed safety mitigation guidance to local authorities on various road safety hotspots in Greater London.

Recommendations for improvements included the introduction of red-light cameras to deter signal jumping, cutting back vegetation to ensure road signage was clearly visible, double-height signage and signals, resurfacing carriageways and raising service covers.

Ford Mobility is also working with authorities in Cologne, Germany, and Valencia, Spain, to identify further ways in which analysis of information connected vehicles and infrastructure can benefit urban mobility.

Blue City Technology, an Automated with Velodyne partner, uses Velodyne Ultra Puck sensors to collect reliable, detailed traffic data about road users, including vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists, while preserving anonymity. Velodyne’s lidar sensors do not identify individuals’ facial characteristics, a growing concern for civic applications. Lidar has an advantage in privacy over camera-only systems because lidar does not record details like hair and skin color. It is becoming more apparent that adding lidar to traffic systems is adding the “smart” to city traffic and pedestrian infrastructure.

Lidar can scan a large crowd of pedestrians and detect general but critical information such as movement trajectory, whether a child or person has fallen or is acting out of the ordinary, all without disclosing individual features. The Blue City Technology solution monitors roadway intersections so traffic systems can prioritize safe crossing of pedestrians and cyclists and better manage overall vehicle flow. The 360-degree field of view of the Ultra Puck enables the Blue City Technology system to use just one sensor in most cases to cover an entire intersection.

The Blue City Technology solution is deployed in multiple countries, including for traffic monitoring in Montreal and by the city of Kelowna, B.C. as part of a 5G Smart City solution in partnership with Rogers Communications and University of British Columbia. The Kelowna initiative seeks to improve how people move in the downtown area, increasing pedestrian and cyclist safety.

V2X communication is heading to mass-market adoption as the world’s largest OEMs announced intentions to equip their new car models with the technology. In recent years, V2X diverged into two different technologies, DSRC and C-V2X, with fundamentally different architectures, making it difficult to harmonize a single global solution. Autotalks, a leader and innovator in V2X, addresses the need for a global solution by equipping its mass-market ready 2^nd generation chipsets with C-V2X in addition to their native support of DSRC. Autotalks brings a decade of wireless expertise, which led to an industry leading radio performance. This solid foundation of modem and radio specifically built and optimized for V2X, coupled with the company’s deep knowledge of 3GPP standards and implementation, will result in superior C-V2X direct communications performance.

While DSRC-based V2X is deployed in the US, Europe and Japan, C-V2X is gaining momentum in other regions. Autotalks chipsets were designed from the ground up to meet V2X market requirements and standards, which gives its C-V2X offering a head start to meet security, environmental, quality, thermal and other requirements. Delivering dual-mode (DSRC and C-V2X) functionality on existing automotive qualified AEC-Q100 grade 2 chipsets while leveraging production grade software and maintaining the present API, enables the shortest time to market for a global dual-mode V2X platform. Autotalks solution minimizes development, testing and certification efforts for a V2X system to be deployed anywhere, via a software-defined toggle between V2X technologies.

Autotalks’ PC5 solution utilizes the globally defined 5.9 GHz ITS spectrum for V2X and is cellular network agnostic (no cellular SIM or coverage required, works without or with any 3G/4G/5G cellular modem). Separating V2X from the cellular Network Access Device (NAD) improves the cost-effectiveness of Telematic Control Unit (TCU) deployments.  The separation of V2X from in-vehicle infotainment ensures that the purpose of the V2X system, which is giving drivers alerts of on-road dangers, is not compromised. Furthermore, V2X isolation combined with Autotalks’ recognized cybersecurity leadership, leads to a truly secure platform; a fundamental V2X requirement and necessity. To learn more about the separation of PC5 from cellular NAD, please read this whitepaper.

BSM is a packet of data that is utilized when sharing information about a vehicle’s position, heading, speed, and other critical data of the vehicle’s state and predicted path. With faster and safer verification technology, this version will be a massive release for all OBU (On-Board Unit) manufacturers, providers, including those Network Software, and Chipset providers expanding to bolster the industry’s growth ambitions with fast, powerful and reliable automotive security technologies.

With upgraded specifications, AUTOCRYPT’s hybrid mixed-mode technology applied to existing chipset hardware increased efficiency of mobility communications environment. The optimization maximized the capabilities and showed successful V2X security module test results. As a result, AUTOCRYPT is expecting to cultivate the global market with partners via activities such as OmniAir’s Plugfests and lay the foundation for automakers and Tier 1 suppliers alike. 

Solace and Savari are partnering to take advantage of ultra-low latency communication across large geographic areas. Their solutions are now jointly deployed in Munich (Germany), St. Louis, MO (USA) and Montreal (Canada) on MobiledgeX Cloudlets for cross-carrier, federated and aggregated mission-critical safety applications requiring integration between multiple operator Radio Access Networks.

By utilizing Solace PubSub+, Savari’s edge applications can ingest large amounts of data from vulnerable road users, vehicles, and road infrastructure, thereby enabling a truly connected and seamless V2X experience in the cloud and on the mobile edge.

Collaborative and intelligent transport networks hinge on the efficient, reliable and real-time distribution of data between cars, other road users, infrastructure and applications. Solace is uniquely qualified to meet that need with its complete event streaming and management platform, Solace PubSub+ Platform. Some of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers use PubSub+ to stream events across their enterprise, including Groupe Renault and Groupe PSA.

Connected vehicle technology is transforming roads, communities, and personal lives. Using wireless communication technologies to communicate with the driver, other vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and the cloud, connected vehicles allow drivers to reach their destinations quickly, safely and in a cost-efficient manner. With connected vehicles rapidly gaining traction among automotive manufacturers and road authorities, the globally connected car market size is projected to reach over USD $200 billion by 2027.

Inherent limitations of current communications technologies can undermine signal delivery in V2X networks, especially when needed for mission-critical and safety applications. Neither contention-based Wi-Fi nor LTE networks guarantee access for transmission of time-sensitive information. TransAir SDR-2400 guarantees access and quality of service by eliminating the unpredictable bandwidth contention process. Finally, software-defined controllability provides operational flexibility and futureproofs V2X communications systems as requirements and technology evolves.

LILEE’s 32-day self-driving Taipei bus pilot safely transported over 7,000 passengers on city streets with cross traffic, proving the viability of autonomous transit in Taiwan. The second autonomous bus pilot tested the reliability of the communications technology across a more remote, mountainous route and proved just as successful. TransAir SDR-2400 delivered performance and the flexibility to configure communications to the specifics of autonomous bus operational needs.

According to the agreement, the companies will collaborate to develop and optimize the technological abilities of Eye-Net Mobile’s cellular-based V2X accident prevention solution and NoTraffic’s intelligent traffic management solution. Following the completion of joint development, the companies will promote the integration and commercialization of the combined solution with various municipalities in North America and throughout the world. The commercialization terms and conditions will be agreed upon in the future. Eye-Net Mobile and NoTraffic successfully collaborated in June 2018 in a trial with the city of Ashdod, Israel, which demonstrated Eye-Net Mobile’s innovative technologies and created a reliable communication channel between road users and NoTraffic’s smart infrastructure. During the trial, NoTraffic’s intelligent traffic light sent alerts to connected Eye-Net road users about cars running red lights, successfully preventing potential collisions.

As automakers increasingly embed V2X units in the vehicles’ TCU (Telematics Control unit), the addition of out-of-vehicle Wi-Fi functionality to Autotalks’ V2X chipset can facilitate a range of out of vehicle connectivity services. These include mobile data offloading, diagnostic services, public hotspot access, over-the-air updates, self-parking and electric vehicle wireless charging communication using the V2X external antennas, for increasing the range of out-of-vehicle WiFi.

This milestone highlights the flexibility of Autotalks’ chipset and the company’s ability to deliver communications devices for the automotive market that are compliant with industry standards. Following DSRC certification in the US and C-V2X conformance testing in China, this Wi-Fi pre-certification demonstrates Autotalks’ ability to provide a one-stop chipset for the connected car, enabling both safety and advanced service use cases. Autotalks’ automotive qualified chipsets have been selected for mass production DSRC and C-V2X projects by global OEMs and Tier1s.

Developed by SAIC Motor, the heavy smart trucks are powered by advanced technologies, including 5G, V2X and AI, to achieve 5G L4-level intelligent driving at the port. Each truck has been equipped with “senses” to detect the external environment and cope with unexpected situations such as crosswinds, obstacles in the road or pedestrian traffic. After arriving at the destination, the vehicles can also dock in target locations.

Quectel C-V2X modules AG15 were integrated in the trucks to help identify and communicate with roadside units such as gates and traffic lights, greatly improving driving safety and efficiency.

The introduction of 5G provides port owners with an unprecedented opportunity to embrace automation to reduce costs by 25-55% and raise productivity by up to 10-35%, according to the same report.

Modules, such as the Quectel C-V2X portfolio, offer even more significant cost-effectiveness and flexibility than conventional forms of investment in automation as they can be custom-installed to meet automakers’ or port authorities’ requirements.

Additionally, Quectel’s AG520R module integrating LTE+C-V2X technologies has supported over 30 automotive customers in product design. The 5G+C-V2X module AG550Q is currently under development and compatible with AG520R in both HW/SW, ensuring a smoother migration from LTE to 5G, which means that the future of automation is now just a module away.

During a live demo event in Turin, the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) showcased ready to deploy use cases in the streets of the city and a sneak preview of what the future has in store on the renowned Lingotto rooftop test track.

Prominent members and partners of the 5GAA including Audi, Continental, Ericsson, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Harman Samsung, Marelli, Pirelli, Qualcomm, TIM and Vodafone demonstrated the current state of C-V2X and the road to future, Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), and Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) applications based on 4G LTE and 5G.

Using both direct short-range communications and mobile networks, the open-road demonstrations showcased the extensive capabilities of today’s C-V2X technology, ready for deployment. To name a few:

• Protecting vulnerable road users, for instance, by alerting drivers about a pedestrian at a crossing using LTE-connected infrastructure.
• Smoothing traffic by allowing public authorities and road operators to provide real-time warnings to drivers in urban environments concerning roadworks or speed limits, via the network.
• Preventing incidents at dangerous intersections or in the event of unexpected braking, thanks to C-V2X direct-short range communications between vehicles.

The track demonstrations at Lingotto underlined the enhanced safety benefits that can be expected thanks to the versatility of 5G and the wide range of services it enables. To name a few:

• Vehicles will geo-tag dangerous areas for the following cars or provide ‘see-through’ functions to avoid dangerous overtaking.
• Pedestrians will be detected directly via their smartphones and surrounding vehicles will be warned.
• In case of accidents, emergency services will be able to visualize the situation live using on-board cameras of surrounding vehicles, improving response times and providing emergency responders situational awareness prior to arriving at the crash scene.

Furthermore, Intel showcased an “In Vehicle Entertainment” demo at the Museum, in collaboration with Marelli, TerraNet and Equinix, showing how Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) can support immersive high-definition (HD) entertainment for all occupants of a moving vehicle, including video streaming, gaming, virtual reality (VR), office work, online education, advertisement.

A short summary on each of the 5GAA C-V2X use cases, demonstrated today in Turin

Demo 1 “Vulnerable Road Users”: open road demos on safety

In this trial – which is part of Torino Smart Roads Initiative patronized by the Municipality of Turin – TIM, Links Foundation and Luxoft showed how the communication between the various actors moving along the roads can help in detecting potentially dangerous situations. The goal of the demos was to demonstrate how the 5G mobile network facilitates the protection of Vulnerable Road Users: pedestrians (“Presence of a pedestrian on a crosswalk”) and cyclists (“Presence of a connected bike on the road”). In the case of a pedestrian approaching a crosswalk, a Roadside Unit connected to the mobile network, equipped with a camera able to detect the event, sent a warning message to the nearby connected vehicles (I2V communication). In the case of a connected bike and a connected vehicle that are approaching each other, the two vehicles received a warning message about their presence when a risk of collision is detected.

Demo 2 “Urban Georeferenced Alerting” in open roads

TIM, FCA, Links Foundation, City of Turin with 5T, and Politecnico di Torino showed how the Local Traffic Authority in Turin intends to notify drivers in real time of possible dangers and special situations on the road (traffic jam, road works warning, dynamic speed limit, etc.). A standard geo-referenced warning message was dispatched to a TIM AMQP broker” at the edge of the 5G mobile network and only the involved vehicles received the geo-localized message from the AMQP Broker using the TIM 5G Network. The warning was read and displayed in an FCA vehicle through the on-board HMI and can for instance notify the driver of upcoming speed reduction. The aim of the trial was to demonstrate how the TIM 5G Network is suitable for realizing smart roads services for connected cars. The solution is compliant with the standards so it can be applied in other locations covered with mobile networks.

Demo 3 Intersection Movement Assist (IMA), Forward collision Warning (FCW)

FCA and Harman Samsung showcased two Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) demos, by integrating C-V2X direct-short range communication into Maserati Levante and Quattroporte. The vehicles, through a direct radio link (network-less radio link), anonymously communicated basic information such as their position and related direction.

The Forward Collision Warning (FCW), detected possible frontal collision and warned the driver accordingly. The Intersection Movement Assist (IMA), assisted the driver at the cross junctions to avoid a possible lateral collision with an oncoming vehicle.

Demo 4 Emergency Electronic Brake Light (EEBL), Stationary Vehicle Warning (SVW)

FCA, Continental, and Qualcomm demonstrated fast and reliable information exchange between vehicles in emergency situations. The two demos are based on C-V2X direct-short range technology, enabling Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication between two Jeep Renegade. There were two portions to this demo:

“Stationary Vehicle Warning” (SVW): when the hazard lights are activated, the application broadcasted a message to all nearby vehicles so that approaching vehicles could be informed even if the hazard was not visible.

“Emergency Electronic Brake Light warning” (EEBL): in the event of a sudden braking, the application broadcasted a message to following vehicles, such that approaching vehicles were notified of the potentially dangerous situation.

Demo 5 See-through

Vodafone, FCA, Vodafone Automotive, Marelli and Altran revealed the ‘See Through’ that uses C-V2X long-range cellular network communication to exchange streamed video in real time between vehicles, extending the driver’s visual range under obstructed visibility scenarios and to prevent accidents, especially those that may occur in an overtaking phase. The two involved Jeep Renegades vehicles were equipped with a connectivity solution (Marelli) and high frame-rate cameras (Marelli Motorsport) to detect the road lanes.

A real time tracking system and a space mapping algorithm of the vehicles, specifically developed by Vodafone Automotive, allowed Vodafone’s Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) to dynamically manage and route the video flows on the basis of the vehicles’ relative positions and to ensure minimal end-to-end latency in the interest of drivers’ safety. Vodafone 5G ultra-low latency and high reliability were paramount to ensure the flow and synchrony of the real-time video exchange between vehicles, also under high traffic and cell saturation conditions.

Demo 6 World-first 5G-enhanced ADAS services

Audi, Ericsson, Italdesign, KTH, Pirelli, Qualcomm, TIM and Tobii showed how smart cars, commercial 5G smartphones and 5G networks jointly improve comfort, safety and efficiency. This unique collaboration combined the power of eye-tracking glasses, intelligent tires, in-vehicle augmented reality and 5G phones to work together over a live 5G network. With its high capacity and low latency, cellular 5G connectivity is ready to enable instantaneous cooperation between vehicles, the IoT ecosystem and more advanced driver assistance services. The live demonstrations at the Turin Lingotto test track were based on TIM’s commercial 5G network delivered in Turin in partnership with Ericsson. Audi cars, equipped with Pirelli Cyber Tyre, and embedded 5G modems provided by Qualcomm and available 5G smartphones were utilized to enhance pedestrian’s safety.

NXP and Volkswagen have closely collaborated for high-reliability and performance, as well as for  standardization of V2X communication that addresses cybersecurity and privacy protection.

V2X in Europe

Wi-Fi based V2X is a mature technology that has been tested for more than 10 years. Presently,1000 km of European roads are equipped with V2X technology based on Wi-Fi with 5000 km planned through the end of 2019. Its research and development, testing and standardization has occurred within a strong global eco-system of suppliers and car manufacturers to ensure reliability in diverse road and traffic conditions. Wi-Fi therefore forms the basis of the European standard that has been chosen for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. An additional benefit is its availability independent of paid cellular services. Other developing cellular based technologies can be added complementary to Wi-Fi-based V2X.

V2X communication is set to become a critical part of advanced driving assistance systems and the migration to autonomous cars that communicate with each other and with traffic infrastructure. The unique benefit of Wi-Fi-based V2X is its robust, low latency, real-time communication – regardless of any car brands.

• It enables awareness and communication between cars, road infrastructure like traffic lights or street signs, and other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.
• It is a technology that is collaborative, allowing it to “tap into” surrounding sensor data from mutually equipped cars to warn of hazards and prevent accidents.
• V2X is a technology that complements other ADAS sensing technologies such as radar, LiDAR and cameras.
• It helps vehicles to “see” more than a mile ahead and around corners to provide early warning of obstacles, hazards, and road conditions.
• It has the ability to “see” through objects, delivering more information than that obtained through line of sight only.
• Its sensing capabilities are unaffected by poor weather conditions.

Autotalks’ chipset was used by five different automakers: Renault-Nissan, Brilliance Auto, FAW, Great Wall and another major European OEM, which conducted demonstration rides for hundreds of visitors, exhibiting conformance and interoperability at all levels: chipset, system, software and security. The demonstration included both Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) applications with security enabled according to Chinese OSCCA standard for the first time. Protection of the V2X system against cybersecurity attacks through Road Side Units (RSUs), was evident through the demonstration rides.

Autotalks has been working closely with its Tier1 and ecosystem partners to ensure end-to-end conformance and interoperability, which is a prerequisite for mass deployment of C-V2X. Leading up to the IMT-2020/CAICV/China SAE event, Autotalks successfully completed interoperability testing with all other C-V2X chipset vendors.

Recently, Autotalks and Neusoft signed a cooperation agreement aimed at forming a strategic partnership for creating a highly reliable and truly secure global V2X solution. The two companies launched and successfully demonstrated this joint product with four car-makers as part of the IMT-2020/CAICV/China SAE “Four Layers” Demonstration.

Ettifos’ SDR-based C-V2X solution can flexibly process applications not only based on C-V2X standards (3GPP Release 14, 15), but is also able to work through WAVE (802.11p) and 802.11bd, the next-generation standard for WAVE, in addition to the new 5G NR V2X standard (3GPP Release 16), set to be completed in 2020. While existing C-V2X communication chipsets make it difficult for terminal or equipment manufactures to change functions once the chipset is designed and produced, Ettifos’ SDR V2X solution circumvents that issue by implementing many V2X functions as software in order to flexibly match the needs of its users.

While V2X technology has long been put on the forefront of innovative technology, major government players such as the EU and the United States Department of Transportation have recently pulled legislation that would have potentially set up a singular standard for the industry to follow. As both WAVE and C-V2X have been considered and heavily debated as to their viability and feasibility, governments across the globe have yet to decide upon a single standard for V2X communication, therefore pushing several key industry leaders such as Toyota and Qualcomm and consortiums such as the 5GAA to lobby governments to decide upon a single standard.

As such, the fact that there now exists a SDR solution capable of handling several different forms of communication standards in one platform is welcoming news to V2X research institutions and equipment manufacturers globally, specifically because they will be able to decrease their reliance on a singular semiconductor company and work with a solution capable of collectively testing a variety of different communication standards in a single environment.