Tests put 5G to work for road safety

Stellantis is participating in the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) live trial of 5G cellular connected vehicle communication. — AFP Relaxnews

The Stellantis Group is participating in the open-road testing of connected vehicles conducted by the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) in Virginia, US. These tests aim to demonstrate how the technology can help play a role in road safety.

For Stellantis, the Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid was the perfect vehicle for use in these tests. It was equipped with vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies, enabling vehicles to communicate with each other and share information in real time.

This system makes it possible to share your position with other users and connected infrastructure. The aim here is to considerably improve the safety of all road users thanks to this real-time information sharing.

With the 5G connection – offering high speeds and virtually no latency – the car’s internal system can quickly make decisions to alert pedestrians and surrounding vehicles to possible collision risks. In the future, 5G should also enable autonomous cars to communicate with one another so that they can not only drive without any human assistance, but also avoid any risk of collision.

In the future, other interactions could be envisaged, such as a real-time connection between traffic lights and connected cars to facilitate traffic flow. Another example could be real-time information on parking spaces that become available, helping vehicles park quicker and more easily than today.

Lastly, 5G could provide access to information and entertainment for all passengers, while also offering a means to remotely update the vehicle's onboard system.

In Europe, too, initiatives are moving in a similar direction. Work being done by 5GCroCo, a European innovation effort that aims to conduct cross-border 5G connectivity tests, is seeking to ensure uninterrupted service delivery when moving from one country to another. With the help of network operators, it has been demonstrated that this can work seamlessly. – AFP Relaxnews