Safer, more convenient, greener: connected vehicles that can communicate with roadside infrastructure in real time reduce emissions and the risk of accidents. This communication requires a stable and reliable data link provided by high-performance 5G, the new fifth-generation wireless technology for cellular networks, or by Wi-Fi-based alternatives (ITS-G5). Sixteen research institutions, medium-sized enterprises, and major players have been working toward this goal over the past three years in the 5G NetMobil research project. They are now presenting their results which will enable major strides for a new era in mobility. “With the 5G NetMobil project, we have achieved decisive milestones on the road to fully connected driving and are demonstrating how modern communication technologies can make our road traffic safer, more efficient, and more economical, all at the same time,” says Thomas Rachel MdB, parliamentary state secretary in the German Ministry of Education and Research. His ministry had funded this research project with 9.5 million euros. The groundwork done in this project in the areas of networks, security, and communication protocols now underpins efforts to standardize specifications, develop new business models, and ramp up the partners’ first production runs.
A launch pad for innovative traffic engineering
In many traffic situations, it is virtually impossible for drivers to see everything they need to, such as pedestrians crossing convoluted intersections or vehicles suddenly emerging from blind alleys. Radar, ultrasonic, and video sensors are the eyes of modern vehicles. They monitor the traffic situation around the vehicle, but they cannot see around corners or behind obstacles. Direct vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication enables vehicles to share data in real time with one another and their surroundings – even data on things that cannot be seen. The partners in the 5G NetMobil project are using this communication capability to develop tools such as a crossing assistant to protect pedestrians and cyclists at blind intersections. A camera installed in the roadside infrastructure detects pedestrians and warns vehicles within just a few milliseconds to prevent critical situations, for instance, when a car turns into a side street. Another item on the research agenda is platooning. In the future, commercial vehicles will be able to join up in convoy-like platoons where synchronized acceleration, braking, and steering enables trucks to operate at very close ranks thanks to V2V communication. This automated drafting – that is, tailgating another vehicle to ride in its slipstream – reduces fuel consumption and boosts safety on freeways. Experts from the participating companies and universities have laid out the groundwork for platooning with vehicles less than ten meters apart and for parallel platooning in agriculture. “The work of the research project is relevant to a wide range of applications. This not only benefits project partners from industry and research, but especially road users,” says Dr. Frank Hofmann from
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SOURCE: Bosch
