Last updated March 2023

Average reading time 10 minutes

Older readers might remember a time when computers were unconnected. Every task was local.

Then came the internet.

At first, going online merely enhanced local tasks – sending a file, finding information, and sourcing assets. But in time, the internet became the dominant force— a giant collaborative network for many users.

The car is on the same journey.

Today's vehicles are connected, and we're in a world of transportation. They have GPS, in-car entertainment, and telematics.

But the next wave of connectivity will see the car in constant 'conversation' with other vehicles, also known as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication.

 

Creating a green infrastructure on the road

The network will make many decisions as the software-defined, ultra-connected vehicle becomes a reality.

The amount of data consumed will increase exponentially from over-the-air updates to enhancing the driving experience.

It will apply machine learning to the constant flow of data to make changes that improve the smart city's green infrastructure, ease traffic, allocate parking spaces, schedule maintenance works, and so on.
 

 

The way we think about driving will change, says Dominique Doucet, Digital VP of Comfort and Driving Assistance at connected car tech company Valeo.

"By being connected to the cloud, the vehicle will (eventually) be optimized for the cloud. That will change our definition of the car," he says. 

Turning this vision into reality will be a huge technical challenge.

Cars and connected 'things' create 'much more data than computers and smartphones.

 

Connected vehicles and the data challenge

Intel estimates that autonomous cars, with hundreds of on-vehicle sensors, will generate 40TB of data for eight hours of driving.

Think about it.

That's 3,000 times more data than the average person would generate in the same period. Sending, receiving, and analyzing these data streams will require vast bandwidth.

Then there's latency. These cars have to make decisions in real-time, such as bringing the vehicle to a stop when it detects a pedestrian in its path. Lives could be at stake if there's any lag in the system, so connections must be continuous and reliable.

Finally, capacity.

The network must support millions of connected 'things' in constant cooperation. It has to do so without crashing or slowing down significantly. 

 

Connected vehicles: The role of networks 

Today's cars useToday'snd/or 4G to send and receive data.

However, most insiders believe 5G can best deliver the long-term promise of smart transportation and its ability to play a valuable role in creating green infrastructure. It certainly has the technical capabilities:

  • Speed–peak data rates can hit 20Gbps downlink, and 10Gbps uplink per mobile base station, while real-world speeds are closer to 100Mbps (download) and 50Mbps (upload).
  • Latency – four milliseconds in typical conditions and one millisecond for use cases that demand the utmost speed. 
  • Capacity – 5G should support one million connected devices per square kilometre. 

Of course, a 5G network comprises much more than just data transmission.

There's the question of how to connect millions of devices physically. The standard removable phone SIM is not fit for purpose.

Today, the industry is experimenting with rugged eSIMs that can be soldered during manufacturing and configured remotely once in position without touching the vehicle.

A car's eSIM makes it simple for a connectivity subscription to pass from owner to owner when a vehicle is sold, limiting disruption for the new owner and keeping the car connected throughout its lifecycle.

Identity is a similar challenge.

Every device in the network needs to be discrete and identifiable. This is why companies now offer systems that help city planners and car manufacturers track and manage their devices from a central location.

Speedy 5G networks will pave the way for smart transportation. The 5G connectivity will improve car-to-car communication and help relay information such as traffic/road conditions, any accidents on the road, speed limits and much more.

The upcoming electric vehicles will also utilize the advantages of 5G; if not self-driving cars, you will be driving a 5 G-connected vehicle.

A connected vehicle uses different types of communication technologies, and this is where automotive and information technology work hand in hand. Below are the different kinds of connectivity technologies:

•    Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I): This type of connectivity is used mainly for vehicle safety. The vehicle communicates with the road infrastructure and shares/receives information such as traffic/road/weather conditions, speed limits, accidents, etc.
•    Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V): The vehicle-to-vehicle communication system allows the real-time exchange of information between vehicles. V2V is also used for car safety.
•    Vehicle to Cloud (V2C): The V2C connection is established via the wireless LTE network and relays data to the cloud. Vehicle-to-cloud connectivity is mainly used for downloading over-the-air (OTA) vehicle updates, remote vehicle diagnostics, or connecting with any IoT devices.
•    Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P): One of the newest systems used in connected vehicles is the V2P system, which is also for safety purposes. Vehicles use sensors to detect pedestrians, which gives collision warnings.
•    Vehicle to Everything (V2X): The combination of all the above types is known as V2X connectivity.
 

Edge computing and connected cars

One way to mitigate the pressure on central data centres is to process some of the information locally – in the car itself.

This is edge computing.

Let's explain.

A vehicle gateway can analyze the data and send only the relevant information to the cloud. This tech is considered essential to the future of connected driving. 

Ultimately, once cars are connected to fast networks, there will surely be many unexpected effects – just as 'always on' smartphones enabled novel marriages of telephony and computing.

Doucet believes one possibility will be to download a new in-car experience. "You will be able to buy new functionality you did not have when you purchased [the car]," he says.

"This is about the digitalization of the vehicle itself, which will change the relationship between the driver, the fleet owner, the manufacturer, and the supplier."
 

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