Vodafone aims to carry out similar connected car tests in Germany
U.K. telecommunications operator Vodafone has started to trial vehicle-to-vehicle communications in the U.K. and is planning to carry out additional trials in Germany.
LTE-V2X enables vehicles to communicate with each other to improve road safety and efficiency, the European telco said. In addition to car-to-car, the term V2X also contemplates connecting vehicles to pedestrians, infrastructure and an array of radio access networks.
Modern cars are equipped with an increasing number of sensors and safety features, such as automatic breaking, lane-tracking and blind-spot warning. Vodafone said that many cars also support eCall, which automatically notifies emergency services in the event of a crash, providing information such as vehicle type and location.
The telco also said that an Intelligent Transportation System will allow vehicles to become much more aware of their immediate and surrounding environments. For example, a car which is part of the ITS will be able to tell other cars of its intention to change lanes or to signal an emergency stop, said David Lister, “5G” research manager, and Bob Banks, research and development program manager, at Vodafone, in a blog post. “The vehicle could also be told the optimal speed to drive in order to avoid traffic congestion.”
Vodafone said it is developing LTE-V2X with a number of industry partners through the standards organization 3GPP. “We have already completed an initial validation of LTE-V2X on a private test track in the U.K. and are actively developing plans to trial it in Germany. Furthermore, as with all our products and services, making sure customer data is secure and their privacy is protected is central to the design, development and delivery of LTE-V2X,” the executives said.
Vodafone also said that achieving communication between cars and infrastructure is a key step that will lead to full automation of cars after 2020.
