Munich, Germany – On 8th February 2018, the 5G Automotive Association lead a successful Open Workshop on “Edge Computing and V2X“. The workshop – open to both 5GAA members and non-members – aimed to provide a discussion platform for the wide range of stakeholder advocating for the evolution of cloud computing in the automotive sector.

Edge Computing offers cloud computing capabilities at the edge of the network. Several demonstrated C-V2X use case trials have already proven the potential of Edge Computing to serve real C-V2X scenarios. 5GAA considers Edge Computing as one of the key supporting technologies for many of the foreseen V2X services for connected vehicles and for Autonomous Driving.

The Munich workshop brought together industry stakeholders from car OEMs, OEM suppliers, road and mobile network operators to edge computing technology vendors. Edge Computing was covered from various perspectives, illustrating its potential to further expand the competitiveness of C-V2X as the technology of choice for C-ITS. The unique position of 5GAA in the technology and solutions development was again highlighted.

The automotive sector, including OEM suppliers and car makers, shared their thinking and experiences with the technology. The event culminated in the panel discussion which included consideration of use cases and requirements and on how to best utilise the networks and Edge Computing for C-V2X.

Finally, the participating companies concluded a common understanding on the way forward:

1. Edge Computing has a great value proposition for C-V2X and its evolution, as it further increases the competitiveness of C-V2X and its infrastructure component (LTE-Uu) over the alternative ITS-G5 technology.
2. Technical discussions are to continue in the 5GAA working groups; further collaboration with standardization bodies is encouraged to continue and expand.
3. Future workshops similar to this one can be considered, e.g. again collocated with a future 5GAA meeting.

About the 5GAA
The 5GAA is a cross-industry association between the cellular and automotive industries to develop, test and promote communications solutions, initiate their standardisation and accelerate their commercial availability and global market penetration, to address society’s connected mobility and road safety needs with applications such as automated driving, ubiquitous access to services and integration into smart city and intelligent transportation.

(Barcelona, February 27, 2017). The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and the European Automotive Telecom Alliance (EATA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The aim of this partnership is to foster cooperation in the field of connected and autonomous driving solutions as well as standardisation, spectrum and related use cases.

The 5GAA and EATA are dedicated to prioritising the use cases identified by the two organisations in order to identify the technical requirements that need to be addressed, both in the short and in the long term. In order to better support standards for connected and automated driving, standardisation prioritisation for standards bodies such as ETSI, 3GPP and SAE International is necessary as well.

It’s beyond dispute that promoting spectrum-related issues (V2X), agreement on usage modalities of certain bands, security, and privacy, as well as vehicle safety requirements to be supported by both mobile network operators (MNOs) and vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) will need to be addressed jointly. Last but not least, the agreement between MNOs and OEMs is also key to developing business models and aligning the timelines of both industries.

The 5GAA includes 33 members, of which 8 are founding members (AUDI AG, BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm Incorporated). The 5GAA is a multi-industry association to develop, test and promote communications solutions, initiate their standardization and accelerate their commercial availability and global market penetration to address the societal need. Focus areas are the development, testing and promotion of communications solutions, the initiation of their standardization and the acceleration of their commercial availability and global market penetration to address society’s connected mobility and road safety needs with applications such as autonomous driving, ubiquitous access to services and integration into smart city and intelligent transportation.

EATA is comprised of six leading associations and 38 companies at present, including telecom operators, vendors, automobile manufacturers and suppliers for both cars and trucks. The main objective of the Alliance is to promote the wide deployment of hybrid connectivity for connected and automated driving in Europe. EATA’s first concrete step is the advancement of a ‘pre-deployment project’ aimed at testing the performance of hybrid communication required for automated driving under real traffic situations.

Furthermore, EATA seeks to identify and address service and technology roadmaps, safety and security
needs, as well as regulatory and business issues. The project will tackle cross-border interoperability, including digital and physical infrastructure, as well as vehicle localisation issues.

“The revolution that connected and automated driving is going to bring about at the societal level is already shaping Europe’s automotive and telecoms sectors at a rapid pace. This Memorandum of Understanding with the 5GAA not only brings the different industry partners closer together but also reinforces the European Commission’s strategy on cooperative, connected and automated mobility that was launched at the end of 2016. Car connectivity and automation will require a mix of communications technologies, but it is clear that 5G technology can become a key enabler of Europe’s digital highways. Together, EATA and 5GAA will contribute to reinventing the driving experience.”

Erik Jonnaert, Chairman of the EATA Steering Committee

“5GAA was created to connect telecom industry and vehicle manufacturers to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services. We look forward to working with EATA to define the requirements of C-V2X and to create a successful V2X ecosystem.”

Christoph Voigt, Chairman of the 5GAA Board

AUDI AG, BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm Incorporated team up to evolve, test and promote communications solutions for connected mobility.

Next generation mobile networks will help to address society’s mobility and road safety needs with applications like connected infotainment features and connected automated driving.

The association is open to further partners.

Munich, September 27, 2016 – Today AUDI AG, BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm Incorporated, announce the formation of the “5G Automotive Association”.
The association will develop, test and promote communications solutions, support standardization and accelerate commercial availability and global market penetration. The goal is to address society’s connected mobility and road safety needs with applications such as connected automated driving, ubiquitous access to services and integration into smart cities and intelligent transportation.
With next generation 5G mobile networks and continued strong LTE evolution, which includes Cellular Vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communication, the focus of information and communication technologies (ICT) shifts towards the Internet of Things and the digitalization of industries.
As an evolution to today’s networks, next generation mobile networks are expected to handle much more data volume, connect many more devices, significantly reduce latency and bring new levels of reliability. For example, 5G can better support mission-critical communications for safer driving and will further support enhanced vehicle-to-everything communications and connected mobility solutions.
These new solutions bring new technological and business opportunities for both the automotive and ICT industries, and the members of the association will closely collaborate to realize the full potential together. The association will address key technical and regulatory issues, leveraging next generation mobile networks and integrating vehicle platforms with connectivity, networking and computing solutions. The main activities of the association include:

• Defining and harmonizing use cases, technical requirements and implementation strategies.
• Supporting standardization and regulatory bodies, certification and approval processes.
• Addressing vehicle-to-everything technology requirements, such as wireless connectivity, security, privacy, authentication, distributed cloud architectures and more.
• Running joint innovation and development projects leading to integrated solutions, interoperability testing, large scale pilots and trial deployments.

The 5G Automotive Association is a global association and welcomes more partners who are engaged in the automotive industry, the ICT industry or the broader eco-system and value chain for vehicle and road transportation systems. Several companies have already expressed strong support for the 5GAA and declared their intent to join the Association in the near future.

Christoph Voigt is appointed Chairperson of the Board and Dino Flore is appointed Director General of the Association.

The Association will support and work in close cooperation with national and regional initiatives, such as the European Connected & Automated Driving Pre-Deployment Project.