In a move that is set to make cellular technology the leading solution for connected vehicles a ground-breaking global partnership of key automotive and telecommunications companies has been announced, that will focus the two industries on developing connected mobility worldwide.
Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm, announced yesterday (September 27) 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 (4G), which includes Cellular Vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communication, the focus of information and communication technologies (ICT) is shifting towards the Internet of Things and the digitalization of industries.
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.
“The 5G Automotive Association is the latest example of Nokia’s close relationship with the automotive industry to make the driverless car a reality and unleash a whole new era in automotive innovation,” says Dr. Marc Rouanne, chief innovation & operating officer, Nokia Cloud. “Communications and networking technologies and innovations have the potential to transform the car into a fully connected device to revolutionize the driver experience and address society’s mobility needs. Nokia is excited to be playing a leading role in this effort that will help save lives, improve our environment and make our transportation systems more efficient.”
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 V2X 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. The Association will support and work in close cooperation with national and regional initiatives, such as the European Connected & Automated Driving Pre-Deployment Project.
“Connected cars will shape the future of individual mobility, and next generation mobile networks will take V2X connectivity to a new level,” says Alfons Pfaller, head of infotainment development for Audi. “The key to success is in cross-industry collaboration. This is why we set up the 5G Automotive Association where experts from all relevant fields are teaming up.”
“We expect 5G to become the worldwide dominating mobile communications standard of the next decade,” adds Dr Christoph Grote, senior vice president electronics for BMW. “For the automotive industry it is essential that 5G fulfils the challenges of the era of digitalization and autonomous driving. With the 5G Automotive Association we founded a cross-industry forum that allows us to shape the future 5G technology with leading ICT companies. As a co-founder of the 5G Automotive Association we would be excited to welcome further partners engaged in the automotive industry, the information and communication technologies or mobile network operators in the association.”Â
