Vodafone 5G at HORIBA MIRA test tracks paves way for autonomous vehicles in Britain
Vodafone is deploying a dedicated 5G Mobile Private Network (MPN) at HORIBA MIRA’s Technology Park in Nuneaton, allowing them to explore Vehicle-to-Everything technology and the future of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) require real-time data transfer, which is enabled by Vodafone’s ultra-low latency 5G MPN
HORIBA MIRA can securely test solutions that go beyond human line of sight, anything from cooperative collision to automated re-routing around obstructions far ahead
Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) reduces latency even further, facilitating vehicle-to-infrastructure technology and tracking the movement of potentially vulnerable road users
V2X paves the way for fully autonomous cars, which will be able to make millisecond decisions on our behalf and be integral to everyday life in a smart city
“Vodafone’s 5G technology will enable us to work and collaborate with the industry’s biggest players to ensure their technologies are safe, robust, convenient and efficient to hit our roads in the near future.”
V2X and CAVs will transform our roads by making journeys safer, cleaner and more efficient, but real-time and secure data transfer is critical. Vodafone’s ultra-low latency 5G MPN delivers this.
CAVs can go beyond human line of sight by sending and receiving up to the millisecond information on traffic, roadworks and emergencies, and interacting with other vehicles, buildings and roadside units.
HORIBA MIRA can examine how one CAV reacts to another. This could be sensing whether vehicle around the corner is breaking and doing likewise to avoid a collision, or how CAVs can use real time data to automatically follow the best route around an accident or tailback to minimise journey length and emissions.
Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) brings processing closer to the end user, opening up even more possibilities.
HORIBA MIRA’s team will explore how high-speed data transfer between CAVs and roadside units to the cloud can alert vehicles to pedestrians and cyclists well in advance.
Chris Reeves, Head of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Technologies at HORIBA MIRA, says “As the self-driving industry transitions from developing standalone autonomous vehicles, to delivering self-driving vehicles that can communicate with each other and the surrounding infrastructure, having access to Vodafone’s 5G technology is a huge boost for the sector as a whole.
"It will enable us to work and collaborate with the industry’s biggest players to ensure their technologies are safe, robust, convenient and efficient to hit our roads in the near future.”
Paving the way for driverless cars and smart cities
A driverless car equipped with V2X technology could generate at least 1TB of data a day, making 5G not only fit for purpose but essential to the future of CAVs and how they integrate into smart cities.
This deployment moves us closer to a world of fully autonomous cars which will not only assist drivers by taking over the driving, but safer as the vehicles will be able to read the road better, see around blind bends and remove human error. This will allow drivers to relax and enjoy their car rides and commutes.