The trial was performed by the Connected Vehicle to Everything of Tomorrow (ConVeX) consortium, which is made up of AUDI AG, Ducati, Ericsson, SWARCO, the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, and Qualcomm CDMA Technologies GmbH, a Qualcomm subsidiary.
The demonstration featured Audi Q7 and Audi A4 road vehicles, as well as a Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro two-wheel vehicle equipped with C-V2X technology using the Qualcomm® 9150 C-V2X chipset. It looked at how C-V2X technology can be used to improve road safety, including the use of intersection collision warning, where a vehicle equipped with C-V2X technology pulls out from a junction with an adjoining road and avoids hitting a motorcycle rider who has the right of way, as well as across traffic turn collision risk warnings, in which a vehicle avoids a left turn collision with a motorcycle.
These use cases are part of a wider set of advanced applications that have been demonstrated through the ConVeX project, which also involves vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication using roadside infrastructure units developed by SWARCO and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication using Ericsson’s 4G/5G cellular test network operated at the motorway A9 German digital test field.
The consortium is continuing to conduct field trials throughout the year to demonstrate the benefits of using a unified C-V2X connectivity platform to showcase range, reliability, and latency advantages for real-time C-V2X direct communications. The goal is to highlight new use cases that are expected to help support traffic flow optimisation, improve safety, and pave the path towards automated driving.
During the trials, C-V2X direct communications for Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) scenarios use the 5.9 GHz ITS spectrum without the need for a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), cellular subscription or network assistance, and these are complemented with vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications over licenced operator spectrum to support telematics, connected infotainment, and a growing variety of advanced informational safety use cases. V2N scenarios for the trials operate on Ericsson’s 4G and 5G test network in Germany in the cellular 2.6GHz band.
C-V2X technology is supported by a broad global automotive and telecom ecosystem, which includes the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) – Audi, Ericsson, and Qualcomm Incorporated are among its co-founders and the Association has more than 85 members. C-V2X is a global solution for V2X communications to support improved automotive safety, automated & connected driving, and traffic efficiency, and is the only V2X technology based on globally recognised 3GPP specifications with ongoing evolution designed to offer forward compatibility with 5G, and leverages upper layer protocols defined by the automotive industry, including ETSI.
“The ConVeX project is developing C-V2X technology, with deployments now getting underway and commercialisation coming in 2019, so that C-V2X can help provide the life-saving safety benefits that have created so much global interest in the technology,” said Wassim Chourbaji, vice president of government affairs, Qualcomm EMEA. “As a leader in 5G innovation, Qualcomm is working with the ConVeX project to further enhance C-V2X in 3GPP as we enable the evolution to 5G NR, making possible advanced capabilities such as intent and sensor sharing which support automated driving.”
"SWARCO is proud to be the first traffic infrastructure company integrating C-V2X into our solution portfolio as C-V2X becomes part of our ‘C-ITS Ready’ products,” said Michael Schuch, COO SWARCO AG. The standardised and direct interchange between vehicles and traffic control is an unprecedented potential for traffic managers. At SWARCO, we are engaged to make the new link towards vehicles available for our infrastructure customers."
