Info Image

Promises and Pitfalls on the Road to 5G-based V2X Technology

Promises and Pitfalls on the Road to 5G-based V2X Technology Image Credit: Andrey Suslov/BigStockPhoto.com

Amidst an industry-wide 3G connectivity ‘sunset’ with U.S. wireless carriers reducing support of older technology to make room for newer 4G and 5G network advancements, 5G-based Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication is garnering increased recognition for its ability to turbocharge next-generation, connected car capabilities. From improved safety to reduced road congestion and lower emissions through optimized traffic coordination, V2X communication offers a whole host of benefits for drivers of the connected cars of the future that, if tested robustly and harnessed securely, has the potential to forever change the way we get from A to B.

Improved roadway safety

Take safety for instance. Today 1.35M people die each year in automobile crashes globally; 38,000 in the U.S. alone, the equivalent of two 747s crashing in mid-air every single week. Counterintuitively, despite the COVID-19 pandemic leading to fewer drivers on the roads and a significant reduction in the number of miles driven, the latest U.S. government data show traffic fatalities have surged to their highest level in more than a decade, alongside an increase in crashes involving impairment, speeding, red-light running, aggressiveness, and non-seatbelt use.

The mass adoption of 5G-based V2X technologies has the potential to significantly improve the overall safety of our increasingly chaotic and dangerous streets, allowing for advanced levels of connectivity, data sharing and improved coordination between cars and infrastructure, bicycles, pedestrians, and scooters. A 5G enabled network would have the processing capability and download speeds to warn vehicles of hazardous traffic issues, even predict dangerous situations far ahead of the driver’s line of sight. It could provide information to drivers – whether human or autonomous – to avoid crashes and even steer clear of those situations and intersections that are most likely to cause them.

5G supports massive amounts of low latency communications in real time, something which is extremely important for our future transportation ecosystem as cars could one day ultimately send upwards of thousands of gigabytes of data each day, whether to cars, traffic lights or other pieces of roadside infrastructure like stop signs. Think of a blind intersection in a dense urban environment. A car is quickly approaching perpendicular to you even though you have the green light. By the time lidar or radar picked up that car, you wouldn’t have enough time to react sufficiently. But if the vehicles communicated with one another, your car could raise an alert on your dashboard, or even immediately activate the emergency brakes. If you’ve ever remarked ‘That car came out of nowhere!’, 5G-enabled vehicles leveraging V2X technology could ‘see’ that car coming and take steps to prevent an accident or near-miss.

Dynamic routing and faster downloads

It’s not all about reducing white knuckle driving and heart-pounding scenarios however. With quicker downloads and the ability to seamlessly connect between systems, your car’s ability to find the fastest route to work, while optimizing any necessary detours is a part of the promise of 5G and V2X. Imagine telling your car through voice activation that you have to be a work by 8:00 a.m., but you want to pick up a cup of coffee and your dry cleaning on the way. The car asks you how you would like to pay, and then proceeds to send you the route, while queuing your order with the coffee shop, to be ready precisely when you pull up, and your dry cleaning paid for and hanging when you arrive. As you arrive at work, the map sends you to a parking spot which it reserved and paid.

With the ability to quickly download real-time data on the latest traffic information, maps, weather conditions, construction hot spots – the kind of real-time information that will allow drivers to make better and quicker decisions that optimize their route and where they are going, 5G and V2X can enable this Jetsons-like future to become a reality.

Roaming speedbumps ahead

To realize this potential however, it’s not enough for cars to talk to one another and their environment, they need to ensure that they are speaking the same language, are not interrupted and can trust what one another is saying.

With 5G connected car deals inked with Audi and GM, and the technology set to be embedded starting with model-year 2024 vehicles, carriers like TELUS and Verizon are forging ahead, conducting connected car trials to work out some of the major pain points associated with instances like vehicle roaming. Ensuring that cars with V2X and 5G-enabled features can remain intact, even as they travel across different networks and edge infrastructure between regions, is no easy feat but an absolute must for an automaker to be confident that the feature it rolls out to customers works 100 per cent of the time, regardless of network or location, particularly if it’s used to deliver information about traffic hazards, such as accidents and road construction, both for driver and pedestrian safety and navigation. This dichotomy is one that will of course add further friction to a speedy roll out of the technology and will likely be familiar to anyone who has found themselves prevented from being able to make a call or send a text while overseas owing to network issues or perhaps worse, come back to a hefty and unexpected phone bill. Either scenario is a non-starter for automakers, hence the importance of these connected car trials so there’s no room for error.

The elephants in the room (car) - cybersecurity and privacy

Above and beyond 5G network compatibility issues, for V2X to ultimately be successful, the system must also be designed so hackers are prohibited from modifying messages in transit and sending false messages.

For this reason, Security Credential Management Systems (SCMS) which secure V2X communications and protect both the safety of messages transmitted or received have an important role to play. SCMS’ secure the communication of vehicles with each other and with roadside equipment in two ways: by means of digital signatures, which protect messages against manipulation and unauthorized access and by means of certificates, which identify the respective sender as trustworthy. SCMS’ make it possible for OEMs, suppliers, municipal infrastructure makers and roadside equipment manufacturers to implement 5G-based V2X security protocols in their automotive embedded systems, ultimately providing trusted authentication and peace of mind to all those across the transportation ecosystem.

Lastly, as with many innovations, the technology also raises privacy issues and the classic question of how much intrusion we want in our lives – or cars – in order to reap the many benefits that can be had. In order to spur mass acceptance, and thus adoption, it’s incumbent upon the entire industry to show consumers the incredible innovation of what’s possible through data-sharing, and more importantly, prove over time that their vehicle data will be protected, secured, and utilized in ways that respect their privacy and adhere to compliance regulations, such as CCPA and GDPR, rather than being without their knowledge. When customers learn that their data sharing can provide something positive to them in return, this opens the door to a variety of opportunities, from applications that can be tailored and customized to broad based safety improvements that can help cut down on the carnage that we’ve seen on our roads as of late.

While it is impossible to predict how quickly 5G-based V2X technologies will be embraced by the automotive industry, there is no doubt that future connected and autonomous vehicles will drive and make decisions based on rich data. By leveraging this data there are a whole host of benefits for individuals, the environment and the economy however the importance of having an industry-wide framework that can help process all of it efficiently and keep it secure and trusted is critical to ensure the next generation of connected vehicles is able to reach their full potential.

Author

Currently, Senior Director, IVY Ecosystems, Development at BlackBerry, Jeff Davis oversees the development of IVY partnerships and the growth of the ecosystem, working to grow IVY’s value in the marketplace and to build understanding and awareness of the IVY product. He remains an advocate for smart mobility initiatives working with Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE), ERTICO and the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto-ISAC), and in directing BlackBerry’s development in smart transportation. Prior to his role within IVY, Jeff previously served as the Senior Director for Government Affairs, and the global lead for the transportation marketing vertical.

PREVIOUS POST

Push to Eliminate 'Digital Poverty' to Drive Demand for Satellite-Powered Broadband Connectivity Post Pandemic