On 16 January, Yuji Aburakawa from 5GAA member NTTDoCoMo is going to participate as a speaker in a session entitled “5G and Cellular V2X Changes Mobility” on behalf of 5GAA, with a presentation on “Telecom and Automotive Unite to Realize Connected Mobility“.

Following on the recent publication of a technical report on the Predictive QoS and V2X Service Adaptation (PRESA) Work Item, the 5G Automotive Association is hosting an online session on Friday, January 27, from 3:00 to 4:30 PM (CET).

The session, “V2X Application Adaptation based on Predictive QoS Changes”, will be led by Huawei’s Antonio Consoli and Alimi Hamidian, and Tencent’s Lei Yixue. As the leading contributors to this publication, they will present the highlights of the PRESA technical report on enhancing the framework for V2X application adaptation when a QoS change is predicted in the network.

The three speakers will explain the methodology for analysing V2X use cases that use predictive QoS information to enable V2X application adaptation for the vehicles, as well as the coordination between 3GPP and 5GAA to promote end-to-end solutions and standards for QoS prediction and V2X application adaptation.

Registrations are now open.

On October 20th, 2022, the 5G Automotive Association will meet with members in Málaga for a symposium on “5GAA’s achievements and the C-V2X ecosystem”, followed by more than 15 C-V2X live demonstrations taking place at the DEKRA facilities.  

Between October 17 and 20, the 5G Automotive Association will travel to Malaga, Spain, for an internal meeting week. On Thursday, October 20, DEKRA will welcome 5GAA at its testing centre in Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía, where they will host a members’ symposium and several  live demonstrations. 

The symposium will bring members together with EU road traffic authorities, operators and other ecosystem stakeholders. The programme includes a presentation and exchange around the new C-V2X 2030 Roadmap and a sample of essential 5GAA Work Items completed over the past year. For the closing remarks, the association is honoured to welcome H.E. Mr. Roberto Sánchez,  Spain’s Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures. The road operators will then be invited to join a round table hosted by 5GAA Board representatives. 

In the afternoon, attendees can witness the demonstrations organised by 5GAA, showcasing some of the latest developments for 5G and C-V2X technologies. This unique experience will feature 16 live indoor and outdoor demos, proving that 5GAA members do not cease to innovate and deliver cutting-edge solutions for connected and automated mobility. The list of confirmed participants includes, amongst others, Autotalks, Huawei, Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Keysight, Molex and Anritsu.

To help attendees plan their visit, 5GAA has designed a brochure containing a map of the facilities and a description of each demo. It is available here for download.

 

List of confirmed demos:

 

Through September 15, 2022, a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will be open for Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants in FY22. It’s an opportunity for companies to apply for a part of $1 billion per year in FY22-26 grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.

The timing is fortuitous. Newly released traffic crash estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that traffic fatality rates in 2021 are the highest since 2005. NHTSA projects a final tally of 42,915 lives lost during 2021 in traffic crashes nationwide.

Making transportation safer and more equitable

To support its goals, the SS4A program funds activities that will help lower fatalities on U.S. roads and highways. The program is also an opportunity to fund regional, local and Tribal initiatives aimed at making transportation equitable for all road users.

Equity is an important element in underserved communities, which are disproportionately affected by fatalities among vulnerable road users (VRUs). These users include pedestrians, cyclists and the growing number people using micro-mobility options such as e-bikes and scooters.

Underserved communities also have higher vehicular traffic volumes, trucking routes and major arterial roads. They are characterized by intersections that are unsafe or impassable by foot or bike, and an overall lower level and quality of walking and cycling infrastructure. NHTSA’s projections for 2021 show alarming increases in fatalities for pedestrians (13 percent), motorcyclists (9 percent) and bicyclists (5 percent), making the SS4A funding opportunity even more fortuitous for VRUs.

Applying C-V2X technology to prevent road fatalities

Many roadway deaths are preventable. Cellular-vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) is a wireless technology that allows vehicles to communicate directly with each other (V2V), with roadside infrastructure (V2I) and potentially with pedestrians (V2P). C-V2X supports information sharing to facilitate applications that enhance safety for all road users.

NHTSA believes that safety applications supported by V2V and V2I could eliminate or mitigate the severity of up to 80 percent of non-impaired crashes. Also, connected vehicle technology is on the National Transportation Safety Board’s Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements.

The following use cases illustrate the immediate impact of safety applications that use C-V2X technology:

• Red-light violation warning (RLVW)
  More than half of all fatal and injury crashes happen at intersections (source). The most common cause of all urban crashes, drivers running red lights result in an average of seven fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries per day at signalized intersections across the country (source).

• Intersection movement assist (IMA)
  Similar to RLVW, IMA safety applications can alert other drivers when someone is running a red light so they can take action to stop before entering the intersection.
• Spot weather warnings
  Inclement weather, which can result in road hazards such as icy patches on highways, are not easily detected by LIDAR sensors. Infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) applications can send a warning to approaching vehicles, reducing the potential for sharp drops in speed that can result in road incidents.
• Traffic signal pre-emption
  Aimed at shortening emergency response times to help save lives, this use case allows vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks to remotely trigger a green light. Related V2V applications share this information with nearby vehicles so drivers can take action to move out of the way, reducing congestion along the route to improve safety for first responders and road users alike.
• School zone safety
  C-V2X alerts drivers when they are entering an active school zone and notifies them of the reduced speed limit. Future applications might include automatically slowing vehicles as they approach an active school zone.

See more use cases below.

What you can’t see can hurt you, and C-V2X plays a critical safety role because it allows the vehicle to see more than the driver can see. Regular sensors keep vehicles safe in immediate surroundings; C-V2X provides more robust signaling to help vehicles see around blind corners and many other types of obstructions. It connects vehicles and roadside infrastructure that are not in each other’s line of sight and allows them to share information about traffic conditions.

How C-V2X fits with SS4A

SS4A accepts both Action Plan Grants and Implementation Grants, with the latter drawing upon the foundation of the former. The program calls out four selection criteria:

1. Safety impact
2. Equity, engagement, collaboration
3. Effective practices and strategies
4. Climate and sustainability, and economic competitiveness

Two notable considerations are project readiness and funds to underserved communities.

USDOT lists several sample activities for Implementation Grants that align closely with C-V2X, including these:

• Deploying advanced transportation technologies, such as the installation of connected intersection-based safety solutions and vehicle-to-infrastructure advisory speed limit systems (e.g., intelligent speed assistance — see above)
• Evaluating and improving the safety of intersections by considering innovative design changes, improved delineation, and advanced warning
• Creating safe routes to school and public transit services through multiple activities that lead to people safely walking and biking in underserved communities.
• Promoting the adoption of innovative technologies or strategies for the safety and protection of VRUs in high-traffic areas where commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists interact.

Next steps

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, SS4A is a discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over the next 5 years. A related opportunity opening up in late 2022 is the $500 million Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants from USDOT. Both SS4A and SMART provide a path to federal funding to build novel uses of C-V2X and 5G technologies into the nation’s infrastructure. To provide more visibility for industry stakeholders, USDOT has published a full list of funding opportunities with anticipated dates for 2022.

Applications built around C-V2X can help make intersections safer and reduce fatalities due to speeding in the use cases shown above, as well as in these:

• At-grade rail crossings — alerting emergency vehicles that a rail crossing is closed, enabling early rerouting and avoiding delays in life-saving calls
• Pedestrian crossings — detecting when a VRU is in the crosswalk ahead and warning approaching drivers to proceed with caution
• Incident clearance and response — sending alerts to drivers as they approach an emergency vehicle stopped in or along the roadway ahead, thereby helping to prevent secondary crashes
• Wrong-way driving — detecting drivers who go the wrong way on on-ramps and highways, then alerting the driver, nearby drivers, and law enforcement

These applications can also help make transportation equitable in underserved communities, fulfilling another important goal of SS4A.

Find out how to apply for SS4A grants here and in the USDOT’s “Safe Streets and Roads for All” webinar series.

Last March, the Commonwealth of Virginia held a live trial of a new driver and pedestrian safety concept that allows near-real-time notification of roadway hazards through 5G and edge technologies. The trial was one of the three conducted internationally by a historic public-private collaboration, organised by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and eight member companies representing leading technology companies from around the globe. A related European live trial was conducted in 2021 in the city of Turin, Italy. The North American live trial, on the other hand, was conducted on the Virginia Smart Road operated by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg, VA. It was the first of its kind in North America.

To find out more, you can now watch this video explaining the tested concept:

Barcelona, 3 March 2022 – The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), alongside its members, disclosed the latest global deployments of C-V2X technology, highlighting how 5G data will deeply transform the mobility system by making it safer and more efficient at GSMA’s Mobile World Congress 2022 in Barcelona on Wednesday 2 March 2022. 

The 5G Automotive Association was back this year at Barcelona’s edition of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s leading exhibition for the connectivity industry, to disclose the cellular technology shaping the future of mobility alongside its member.

Today, connected driving is a reality. Over 200 million connected vehicles are equipped with C-V2X applications sharing hazard and traffic warnings on the road. Applied to the automotive sector, 5G is upgrading revolutionary in-car connectivity, allowing seamless and cooperative communication between vehicles, infrastructure, and surroundings.

On 2nd March, 5GAA experts and member spokespersons shared their views on how the deployment of C-V2X technologies is turning connected and safe mobility into reality from now and in the next few years. Moreover, the association had the pleasure to have Peter Stuckmann, Head of Unit, Future Connectivity Systems, DG CONNECT, European Commission, addressing the participants and highlighting the crucial role of investments in 5G and infrastructures to foster the European green and digital transition.

As noted by Johannes Springer, 5GAA Director-General, the association that celebrates its 5th Anniversary has been working intensely to bridge the gap between automotive, technology, and telecom industries and promote the 5G-V2X (vehicle-to-everything) technology as a comprehensive and integrated platform for connected vehicles, embracing digital transformations as opportunities for mobility innovations.

The conference, moderated by Freddie Holmes, Special Correspondent at Automotive World, offered an overview on the broad-scale improvements that connected mobility can bring to the global automotive system, starting with a first session on the 5G-V2X deployment landscape in different regions, such as Europe, China, and the US. Speakers underlined the need for increased ecosystem cooperation and cross-border projects to ensure reliable access to 5G networks to all users. The second session focused on the safety aspects and benefits brought by the technology, including protecting vulnerable road users.

The event concluded with an insightful panel discussion on mobility data, with the participation of representatives from the entire ecosystem value chain. Panellists discussed how smart cities and infrastructure could help make data-driven decisions that inform how we pave the path for the future of mobility and the crucial role of data standardisation and reliability and new business models to foster investments.

The event welcomed, in person or through virtual messages, high-level representatives of 5GAA’s member companies Deutsche Telekom, Verizon, China Mobile, Harman, Continental, Telefonica, Qualcomm, BMW, Huawei, Intel , ZTE, Stellantis.

In addition,5GAA hosted a Press & Industry guided tour across the booths of key member companies to share their latest C-V2X technology developments with journalists and industry analysts, focusing on road safety and digital infrastructures.

Companies featured in the tour included:

• Deutsche Telekom presented the Automated Valet Parking in a 5G network use case, in partnership with BMW and Valeo, which delivers high reliability and stable latency to ensure the necessary safety requirements. Moreover, the company presented its Mobility Connect solutions, offering drivers 5G seamless connectivity solutions
• ZTE Corporation showcased its 5G-V2X products and solutions, including 5G-V2X module, OBU, RSU, V2X cloud platform and other cases
• Qualcomm presented its Snapdragon Digital Chassis Platform: a set of technology solutions for building connected and intelligent vehicles that are safer, customisable, immersive and continually upgradeable, and Auto Connectivity Platform to support ubiquitous connectivity in and around the vehicle
• Intel with its Superdemo, developed with its partners Capgemini and Advantech for their 5G Road Side Unit solution for Smart City & Transportation use cases focusing on vulnerable users protection Digital Twin infrastructure for sustainable cities
• Rohde & Schwarz showcased its 5G and C-V2X solutions for development in the laboratory and verification in the field to ensure the performance and reliability of critical automotive communications
• Anritsu presented a joint demonstration in partnership with dSPACE. The demonstration showed the use of 5G Network Slicing in an Advanced Intersection Collision Warning (AICW) use case, using Hardware In the Loop (HIL) test and simulation system to provide a realistic sensor simulation to an OBU that is being tested

We would like to thank all our participants, member companies and speakers, for making it such an insightful event, clearly demonstrated the added value of ecosystem cooperation for the future of the transportation system.

Download the agenda of the event here.

For additional information, please get in touch at marcom@5gaa.org.

Please find the video contribution from Ramaswamy Iyer, Senior Vice-President and Head of Connectivity SBU, Harman that unfortunately, we have not been able to show during the conference due to technical problems.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is glad to announce its participation to the Global Certification Forum (GCF) webinar “C-V2X Certification and the Roadmap to Connected Mobility” on 6^th October 2021, at 4 pm CEST.

The event will bring together industry experts from vehicle manufacturers, equipment vendors, test houses and certification authorities to discuss why certification is key to the effective rollout of C-V2X systems and how it can be implemented successfully now.

Maxime Flament, 5GAA Chief Technology Officer, will hold a session to disclose the current standard landscape and the global market opportunities for connected vehicles. Moreover, he will join a panel discussion on the GCF’s C-V2X certification programme and how it will benefit several actors of the connectivity ecosystem.

High-speed wireless communications between vehicles and infrastructures, especially cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communications, are crucial for the development of autonomous vehicles. Proven interoperability between C-V2X devices is essential to ensure the safety and reliability of such systems.

Since 2019, 5GAA and GCF have been collaborating to investigate the principles and framework for a certification programme – designed specifically for C-V2X technologies. A few months ago, the two partners went one step further by signing a new agreement on a programme that will support the drive for interoperability, reliability, and safety of emerging cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) systems. A programme that will enable manufacturers to certify their C-V2X capable products – including onboard units (OBU) and roadside units (RSU) – for C-V2X PC5 Mode 4 functionality, thus providing a trusted foundation for C-V2X applications globally.

Join the webinar to discover more about the progress to the full interoperability, reliability and safety of emerging C-V2X systems.

More information and agenda of the event here.

Registration here.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is proud to announce the publication of the 5G Strategic Deployment Agenda for Connected and Automated Mobility in Europe (EU 5G SDA for CAM), by the 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP), a joint European Commission and European ICT industry initiative.  

5GAA was among the key contributors to this document which outlines the shared view of a industry and public stakeholders, including other relevant European associations (ACEA, CEDR and GSMA) and experts of the three 5G corridors trial projects, based on eight common principles to stimulate investment in 5G-ecosystems in the field of Connected and Automated Mobility: 

1. Deployment of the 5G infrastructure for CAM should follow an evolutionary path to cope with future market developments and technological progress. 
2. The infrastructure should aim at providing boundless connectivity with continuity of service across borders, Mobile Network Operators, vendors/OEMs, as well as traffic managers, road operators and service providers.
3. The CAM infrastructure, including vehicles and road equipment, needs to have a very high level of cybersecurity.
4. The 5G infrastructure for CAM will need to be a multi-service/multi-application platform using standardised specifications and/or data interfaces.
5. The deployment of 5G infrastructure for CAM in Europe should be extensively coordinated with public and private actors in charge of delivering V2X services. 
6. Road operators, road authorities and mobile network operators should collaborate to create synergies for connectivity deployment along CAM corridors.
7. It is a necessity to deliver future networks innovatively and with optimal economics.
8. The digital transformation of industry verticals must be accelerated.
9. As recognised by the European Commission, 5G is a critical enabler of future mobility solutions and its deployment in transport, including both network and direct communication modes, is a European public policy priority. To that end a strategic partnership with road and transportation stakeholders is critical to fully address society’s connected mobility and road safety needs, as per 5GAA mission and the European Commission’s objectives. 

To accelerate the infrastructure rollout, the stakeholders recognised several key drivers, such as the need for appropriate cooperation models to enable the initial deployment of 5G highways corridors, stabilising the technology roadmap through standardisation, ensuring a high level of cybersecurity, regulatory innovation, data access and data sharing, harmonisation of spectrum, and coordination of deployment initiatives. 

Read the full document here 

Road safety is a crucial aspect of mobility both for individuals as well as for policymakers. Road fatalities, in the European Union (EU), for example, have decreased by approximately half between 2001 and 2018 from 54,000 to 25,100 per year. However, in recent years, the number of fatalities has been on a stable level, and additional efforts are needed to further reduce the number of deaths and severe injuries.

5GAA has made VRU protection a priority area and this White Paper therefore aims at shedding light on the safety benefit that selected V2X use cases offer, which can have a significant impact on the protection of the most vulnerable traffic participants. Ultimately, this also has a positive impact on health-sector costs incurred, by reducing the number of people suffering serious injuries with life-changing consequences.

Read the full white paper here

Read the White Paper