New Partnership to Advance V2X Communication Tech

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A new partnership will integrate cellular communication into vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies, as part of an upcoming research in the smart mobility sector. The move will pave the way for faster notifications and warnings, with relevance also for unmanned aircraft systems.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) will be working with industry partners to study various vehicular communications technologies, including dedicated short-range communication V2X, existing 4.5G and the upcoming 5G mobile networks, to improve the data transmission speed and radio coverage distance for communication between vehicles to infrastructure.

The partners will explore the application of these technologies in autonomous vehicle (AV) prototypes, traffic infrastructure and unmanned aircraft systems. These vehicular communications will be used to relay real-time navigation traffic and hazard information to vehicles in advance, according to eurekalert.org.

“Employing cellular communication and integrating them into existing V2X technologies for mobility can help to reduce traveling time, minimise the risk of serious accidents and optimise road usage for a densely populated urban city like Singapore,” said NTU Vice President (Research) Prof Lam Khin Yong.

The university’s decision to carry out further research in V2X and cellular-V2X communication comes after several successful development and tests of transportation technologies using the international car-to-car wireless standard for vehicular use. Known as the dedicated short-range communication V2X communication technology, they were tested at the NTU-NXP Smart Mobility Test Bed.

Launched in 2015, the NTU-NXP Smart Mobility Test Bed turned the NTU campus into a V2X-enabled campus for researching and testing secure, smart connectivity and mobility solutions. These are aimed at improving traffic flow in cities, preventing road accidents, and enhancing the user experience for mobility services.

Among their projects: an early warning system for vehicles, warning drivers on road hazards such as a car stopping unexpectedly or a passenger suddenly opening a vehicle door. Such an early warning system requires a smart in-vehicle unit that can tap into the automotive electronics systems to detect the actions of the driver and its passengers and notify other nearby vehicles through a special car-to-car Wi-Fi signal.

Cellular communication for PMDs – utilizing V2X communication to connect vehicles to e-scooters or e-bikes. It allows drivers and users of personal mobility devices (PMDs) to detect one another.

Drone air traffic management via 4.5G mobile networks is another project by the university. This will give better localisation and positioning to the drones, as well as a smoother stream for high definition video footage.