ETSI specifications ensure interoperability, safety, and security of C-V2X technology development

In July 2020, the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) partnered with global ICT standards organisation ETSI to organise a remote cellular-vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) Plugtest. The LTE-V2X System Profile is the first of its kind to be specified by an independent, accredited standards organisation in Europe (ETSI TS 103 723).

The system profile provides industry wide upper layer configuration guidelines for C-V2X deployment and employs C-V2X technology from 3GPP Release 14. The system profile and the global standard it represents will lay the foundations for standardised direct cellular communications technology in the automotive sector; making product development faster and ensuring that safety and security are at the core of all new technologies.

“LTE-V2X provides a seamless evolution path towards 5G employing new radio V2X (NR-V2X). The latter will allow even better performance and further enhanced features, while keeping backward compatibility with LTE-V2X”, said Maxime Flament, CTO, 5GAA. “OEMs will especially benefit as the technology will allow long life cycles, which are essential for automotive products.”

Several automotive LTE-V2X devices were successfully tested during the second ETSI C-V2X Plugtest™ in addition to Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) stations and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) vendors in order to assess the level of interoperability of their implementation and to validate the ETSI ITS specifications. An overall interoperability success rate of 94% was achieved during the second ETSI C-V2X Plugtest.

To read the full report from the Plugtest, please click here.

5GAA, a global cross-industry consortium working to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services, commissioned Ricardo to develop the report to help improve understanding of the costs, challenges and opportunities of different communication technology approaches to Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) use cases.

V2I is not a new technology consideration, with research and development activities related to connected vehicle applications ongoing for over two decades. However, there is now growing momentum for wider scale deployment of communication technologies in both vehicles and road infrastructure.

To date deployment activities have been fragmented and relatively slow, due to continued emphasis on research, no common vision of communication technologies and market uncertainty, making it challenging for most stakeholders to develop suitable business cases.

To help support a greater understanding of financial viability of the communication approaches implemented in the EU and US V2I market, Ricardo transport and mobility experts, supported by technical experts from Roke Manor Research, analysed a range options which include the use of a pure cellular network system and using a combination of the cellular network with direct communication interfaces via the radio spectrum.

Using outputs from extensive research and engagement with key ecosystem players, the study weighs up strengths, weaknesses and complementarity of the different communications technologies in terms of their technical performance and costs, aligning them with the different use cases. For example, the cost analysis highlights that a pure cellular deployment approach in Europe and US is 40-45% lower cost compared with deployments that include direct communication roadside units.

To recognise the opportunities and benefits identified, Ricardo’s experts have made a number of recommendations that include increased cooperation and communication of roadmaps between vehicle manufacturers, central government, road operators and cellular technology providers – in particular with the consideration of interoperability of technology solutions. Central government are also identified as playing a key role through effective implementation of financial instruments to leverage private sector investment and support wider deployment.

Denis Naberezhnykh, Ricardo’s transport technical director commented:  “Increased communication and connectivity between vehicle and infrastructure have the potential to create significant benefit, not only to the user of the vehicle, but also through wide-ranging societal benefits that will positively impact the economy, community mobility and the environment. The current fragmentation of technical approaches and stakeholders has the potential to significantly slow V2I market adoption and so we’re proud to develop this report, on behalf of 5GAA, to create greater understanding of financial viability and how that aligns with technology choices, as well as to help identify where increased collaboration is needed”.

Read the full study

Ricardo plc is a global, world-class, multi-industry consultancy for engineering, technology, project innovation and strategy. Our people are committed to providing outstanding value through quality engineering solutions focused on high efficiency, low emission, class-leading product innovation and robust strategic implementation. With a century of delivering excellence and value through technology, our client list includes the world’s major transportation original equipment manufacturers, supply chain organizations, energy companies, financial institutions and governments. Guided by our corporate values of respect, integrity, creativity & innovation and passion, we enable our customers to achieve sustainable growth and commercial success. Ricardo is listed in the FTSE4Good Index, which identifies global companies that demonstrate strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. For more information, visit www.ricardo.com.

Ricardo Energy & Environment is a leading sustainability consultancy, helping clients to respond to environmental challenges and opportunities around the world. Its team of over 450 staff draws on an impressive heritage supporting governments and businesses for over 40 years. The consultancy is an operating division of Ricardo plc. For more information, visit https://ee.ricardo.com/.

 

Media contacts:

Trevor Glue
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E-mail:   media@ricardo.com

BRUSSELS, 8 September 2020 – In the next two to three years, the 5G Automotive Association’s (5GAA) expects to see mass deployment of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) use cases geared towards improving traffic efficiency and road safety around the world. This vision is outlined in a new White Paper released by 5GAA which explores how leading automakers, mobile
network operators and their suppliers see the world of automotive connectivity evolving over the coming decade. 

Vehicles talking to one another but also to roadside and telecom infrastructure and operators – so-called V2X communication – is just the tip of 5GAA’s vision for ‘advanced 5G-connected driving’. In its latest White Paper, 5GAA offers a comprehensive roadmap to guide all parties involved in this near-term market development, bringing both automotive and telecom sectors together to fulfil what 5GAA sees as a powerful digital ecosystem in this fast-moving field.  

The Paper highlights selected end-to-end V2X applications factoring in the necessary technological evolution, industry readiness and spectrum needs. 5GAA has developed ‘advanced driving’ use cases such as Cooperative Manoeuvres and Sensor Sharing in conjunction with both the adoption of Cellular Vehicle-To-Everything (C-V2X) standards and the availability of the required technologies and devices. These provide a tangible account of how advanced driving is taking shape globally.  

“Success in this endeavour requires to have all industry stakeholders on-board, including telecoms and automotive. Only then will new business opportunities and necessary investments be secured to fuel this ‘ecosystem’,” said 5GAA’s CTO and spokesperson Maxime Flament upon the White Paper’s launch.  

With close to 200 million ‘connected vehicles’ already on the roads worldwide in 2020 and a growing number of vehicles with the ability to exchange traffic and road condition information over cellular networks, the foundations for 5G-connected driving are well established, the Paper points out. Further progress in coming years will pivot around 5G-V2X use cases for more efficient and safe driving. From 2025 onwards, 5GAA anticipates mass rollout of more advanced automated driving and safety use cases supported by vehicle connectivity. Additional automated driving functionalities are anticipated as from 2026.  

Between now and 2024, ‘connected’ digital road infrastructure will pave the way for real-time or ‘dynamic’ traffic updates, hazard warnings, and high-definition mapping services. Towards 2026, advanced vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) cooperation will further boost automated driving developments, including sharing sensor data and cooperative manoeuvring.  

To fully support this evolution, 5GAA calls on national and regional administrations to make sufficient radio spectrum available for mobile communication networks in targeted low- and mid-bands, and it recommends harmonised use of the 5855-5925 MHz band for communication between road users and roadside infrastructure within the wider international digital traffic ecosystem.  

Here, the White Paper acknowledges that some 5G-enabled applications may prove challenging to implement, while others will be easier and offer valuable lessons going forward: “Low-hanging fruit applications addressing OEM fleets, such as automated valet parking and tele-operated driving will open the door to more secure, safe and interoperable vehicle-to-network automotive applications across borders.”  

Charting a clear way forward… 

All in all, to deliver end-to-end V2X services and unlock the true value of vehicle connectivity, 5GAA considers that the realisation of its roadmap would require:  

(1) sufficient spectrum for short-range direct communications at 5.9 GHz 

(2) high levels of mobile network coverage along the roads 

(3) sufficient service-agnostic mobile network spectrum for mobile network-based communications, in addition to the bands that are currently identified for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) use. 

The essence and great promise of 5G is that it makes better use of the radio spectrum, boosts mobile network coverage, security and safety, while delivering environmental benefits for citizens and consumers. To chart a clear way forward, 5GAA calls on all players to work together while implementing the use cases highlighted in the Paper, as well as other measures outlined in 5GAA technical reports and papers.  

About 5GAA 

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global, cross-industry organisation of companies and OEMs from the automotive, technology and telecommunications industries working together to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services. 5GAA is uniquely placed to support 5G-V2X advances because it unites all major automotive, chipset, technology, telecom-mobile infrastructure and mobile network operators. In less than three years, more than 135 global players, including pioneering OEMs, have signed up to 5GAA’s vision. 

For more information, please contact our media team at marcom@5gaa.org  

Download the Roadmap

Press Briefing slide deck

The article below and the linked document refer to an older version of the 5GAA roadmap, whose most updated version you can find here. 

With this white paper, the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) presents the results of its studies relating to the evolution of automotive connectivity for the purposes of enhanced road safety, improved traffic efficiency, greener environmental impact, and more comfortable driving.

5GAA has identified the most promising advanced driving use cases such as Cooperative Manoeuvres and Sensor Sharing, in conjunction with the adoption of Cellular Vehicle-To-Everything (C-V2X) standards as well as availability of required technologies and devices, i.e. on-board units (OBUs), road-side units (RSUs), and smartphones, integrating the latest chipsets and modules. The market trajectory of the identified use cases is described along with the expected timeline for their mass market deployment.

The white paper finally highlights the spectrum needs for basic and advanced driving use cases. For direct communication, this corresponds to between 10 and 20 MHz at 5.9 GHz for basic safety, and an additional 40 MHz or more at 5.9 GHz for advanced driving.

Read the full roadmap here

This work reports the analysis, extension and classification of a set of Tele-Operated Driving (ToD) use cases, with the aim of providing a shortlist, which will serve as a basis for further activities related to technical requirement derivation and business considerations.

The ToD Work Item (WI) aims to describe the requirements and framework needed for ToD service provisioning for automated vehicle operation, covering the possible interfaces and stakeholders. This WI focuses on the tele-operation of vehicles after an incident or in difficult situations (including parking), also potentially taking the network conditions before the incident happened into account.

Read the full report here

In light of on-going discussions on a legal framework for the European C-ITS deployment, a minimum set of specifications and configurations is needed for existing ITS standards ensuring the interoperability of C-ITS service among ITS stations using different communication technologies and systems, e.g. short-range and long-range radio communications.

While C-V2X standards are already finalised for 3GPP Rel. 14 and 5GAA published White Paper on C-V2X Use Cases: Methodology, Examples and Service Level Requirements, there are still many options on how to configure and establish parameters for C-V2X systems. In order to provide a common standard interpretation, corresponding system profiles are needed, which outline the basic system settings and environments

In Europe, Basic System Profiles (BSPs) have been developed by the Car-2-Car Communication Consortium (C2C-CC) and the EU-funded C-ROADS Platform project, assuming ITS-G5 with IEEE 802.11p as radio access technology for V2V and V2I communication. Though many aspects of the existing BSPs could be reused, there are some modifications needed for C-V2X. In addition, there would be extensions required in order to accommodate alternative communication links like V2P, V2N, and V2C.

5G Automotive Association makes publicly available the following  C-ITS Communication System Profiles:

• Technical Specification C-ITS Communication System Profile Using Cellular Uu Interface
• Initial C-V2X System Profile (ICSP) – Amendments to C2C-CC Basic System Profile
• Initial C-V2X System Profile (ICSP) – Amendments to C-ROADS Roadside System Profile

In response to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal for the 5.9 GHz band, the 5G Automotive Association issues the following statement:

The 5G Automotive Association applauds Chairman Ajit Pai for proposing to dedicate a portion of the automotive safety spectrum for the use of Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X). Extensive crash avoidance testing continues to demonstrate that C-V2X technology will deliver safety benefits to the American public. We look forward to working with all stakeholders throughout this process to ensure that spectrum regulations adequately address the needs of transportation safety.

You can find the official FCC chairman speech here. 

Turin, 14 November 2019 – Smart mobility technology is a reality today, with ‘Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything’ (C-V2X) allowing connected vehicles to communicate with the cloud, directly with each other and their surroundings. Deployment plans are primarily sustained by the global trend in the automotive industry to adopt 4G LTE cellular technology, followed by the emerging 5G high-speed low latency communications. Beyond infotainment, C-V2X will capitalize on vehicular and smartphone connectivity to contribute to better safety, less congestion and reduced emissions. 

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. 

“Connected mobility is a market reality.” says 5GAA Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Maxime Flament. “The use cases demonstrated in the streets of Turin are planned for deployment with a huge industry momentum based on the evolution path to 5G capabilities.”  

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. 

About 5GAA 

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global, cross-industry organisation of over 130 members comprised of leading global automakers, Tier-1 suppliers, mobile operators, semiconductor companies and test equipment vendors. It works together to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transport services. 5GAA is committed to helping define and develop the next generation of connected mobility, automated vehicle and intelligent transport solutions based on C-V2X. 

Learn more on the 5GAA website and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Media Contacts

5GAA Marketing & Communications
Email: marcom@5gaa.org 

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Official pictures: Conference – Demonstrations

The new European Commission recently outlined its political priorities, based on two fundamental and complementary pillars: environmental protection through the European Green Deal, and the digitalisation of Europe. Transport still represents around 25% of Europe’s total CO₂ emissions. Road-based travel is responsible for the largest share of these emissions, which are expected[1] to double by 2050. Therefore, decisive actions need to be taken by policymakers and stakeholders to ensure that the objective laid out by the European Union[2] of cutting greenhouse gas emission by more than 80% in 2050 compared to 1990’s level is met.

5G technology enables a fully connected and automated mobility which begins with the availability of the LTE-V2X technology today. Vehicles and infrastructure are able to exchange relevant information via LTE-V2X either through direct short-range communication, which does not require network coverage, or long-range communication via the network, creating a real-time connection between all actors of road mobility. The upcoming 5G revolution will reinforce those interactions and spark a whole new set of services, dramatically changing the mobility landscape.

Read 5GAA’s Position Paper on the matter.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global, cross-industry organisation of more than 120 companies from the automotive, technology, and telecommunications industries (ICT), working together to develop end-to-end connectivity solutions for future mobility and transportation services.

5GAA welcomes the opportunity to give feedback on the call for inputs on the impact of 5G on regulation from the Body of European regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

Following the assessment by the BEREC on the list of regulatory aspects impacted by the development of the 5G technology, 5GAA would take this opportunity to add potential missing regulatory aspects as well as to highlight 5GAA’s view on BEREC’s priorities for the coming three years.

1. 1. 5GAA considers the availability of spectrum for digital communications to be critical for road safety using 5.9 GHz ITS spectrum. It is therefore essential that any regulatory framework provides certainty to the industry to invest in today’s technology for Day 1 services as well as a robust roadmap for advanced safety (5GAA is currently working on a related Work Item on New Radio V2X).
   2. Beside the direct communication means in the 5.9 GHz band enabling V2V and V2I communication, 5GAA stresses the need for the development of mobile network coverage alongside the road network, and calls for the adoption of regulation which stimulates investments in mobile network coverage (5GAA is currently working on a related Work Item on Strategic Deployment Agenda), to enable the full range of capabilities provided by cellular V2X.
   3. 5GAA highlights the need for continuous coverage and seamless handover of 5G connectivity for vehicles crossing country borders in Europe. Further work is needed, notably in collaboration with standardisation bodies, to establish the right conditions to stimulate continuous coverage and seamless handover across borders. (5GAA is currently working on a Work Item on Network Selection for this very purpose). However, it should be noted that despite the importance of cross-border handover with 5G networks, given use of ITS spectrum, it is not a concern for the 5G sidelink case.
   4. 5GAA stresses the required investments into connected intelligent traffic infrastructures to assure safe and efficient mobility. Significant investments can be ensured by stimulating synergies of mobile network infrastructure and intelligent road infrastructure along with cohesive funding mechanisms (e.g. CEF Transport/Digital) (5GAA is currently working on a Work Item on Road Side Unit).
      On this point, 5GAA would like to add that CEF transport needs to remain technological neutral while CEF Digital should be focused on Mobile Networks.
   5. As road safety and automated driving are prominent example of Quality of Service needs, 5GAA calls for regulation which focuses on social benefits, outcomes and market adoption to position Europe as a global leader in the field. (e.g. enables prioritization of different service classes) (5GAA is currently working on a Work Item on this matter, Business Aspects of Network Slicing (BARNS)).
   6. 5GAA would like to draw attention to CCAM’s needs in terms of direct communications for critical road safety use cases as well as complementary network based communication and calls for the adoption of regulation which considers various ways of connectivity and keep regulation technology neutral.
   7. As CCAM goes beyond automotive sector, 5GAA would like to point that there is an opportunity to address the digital transformation of the transportation sectors by stimulating synergies with other transportation sectors (as pedestrians, bikes, motorcycles, esp. in urban environments, as well as rail and tolling).

The next years are crucial to set Europe at the forefront of the development of 5G and of Connected and Automated Mobility, to guarantee the safe and sustainable mobility of citizens while maintaining a global competitive edge in 5G development. Effective synergy between the development of the 5G ecosystem and European regulation is a precondition to ensuring that the benefits of 5G are indeed fulfilled.

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