In cooperation with Vodafone, Porsche has entered the 5G era at its Weissach Development Centre.
Real-time mobile communications will now be available with immediate effect for vehicle development at the site. The new technology will ensure the secure and instantaneous transmission of data between car, human and machine. At the same time, it will improve the framework conditions for the strategic development of new vehicle systems and functions at Weissach, allowing 5G to be integrated in the cars of tomorrow, to meet the requirements of the future.
When installing 5G at the Weissach Development Centre, the partners focused on secure and instantaneous transmission between vehicles and digital devices. The technology has the potential to transmit more information much faster than LTE (also known as 4G). Unlike most other 5G networks, the mobile communications architecture at Weissach is a complete 5G standalone solution in the 3.5 GHz frequency range. This means that the site’s 5G network differs from 5G technology in other locations, where in some cases the core network uses existing LTE infrastructure. The delay time for data exchange, also referred to as latency, is only around ten milliseconds in a 5G standalone network, making Weissach’s one of the fastest 5G networks in Europe.
Real-time mobile communications will now be available with immediate effect within the Porsche Site Weissach. Therefore, the technologie will improve the framework conditions for the strategic development of new vehicle systems and functions.
In addition, the 5G standalone network will enable network slicing technology, which is vital for the automotive industry. This means that Vodafone and Porsche can provide small sub-networks with guaranteed bandwidths and latency times for certain events and projects at the Development Centre.
The real-time capability provided by 5G and multi-access edge computing (MEC) are essential prerequisites for the development of future pre-emptive warning and assistance systems – as well as automated driving functions that require the exchange of safety-relevant data between vehicles. One example of such an application is a warning function that alerts a car’s occupants to hazards on the route ahead. To be able to do this, the system evaluates real-time data from other vehicles in the vicinity.
Vodafone Germany CEO Hannes Ametsreiter
With 5G standalone we have brought Europe’s fastest network to Weissach, and therefore enable new digital services for the cars of tomorrow. 5G is revolutionising the development of vehicles – from the first prototype to the finished series model. In future, Porsche engineers will be able to work on digital vehicle models and prepare them for use on the road.
Michael Steiner, member of the Porsche AG Executive Board for Research and Development
We have enjoyed a successful partnership with Vodafone, for example in motorsport, and now we are amplifying this and expanding it to new areas with the 5G network in Weissach.
