As part of a feasibility study, Here, Porsche and Vodafone show how a real-time warning system can be set up in road traffic with the help of 5G and multi-access edge computing. Data captured by sensors and cameras are analyzed in a few milliseconds and also transmitted to other road users.
In the future, vehicles should receive warning messages immediately and without delay so that they can react immediately – be it the driver himself or an assistance system. The real-time warning system is being tested under conditions similar to everyday life in the Vodafone 5G Mobility Lab in Aldenhoven, west of Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. The aim of the three participating companies Here (Maps), Porsche and Vodafone is to improve the safety of road users with the help of 5G and high-precision identification and localization of dangerous situations in real time.
Warn about dangers that are not visible
The aim is to prevent or mitigate particularly dangerous situations that are difficult or impossible to see for the occupants, for example because the view is blocked by vehicles driving ahead. Sensors and cameras in the car are supposed to record the situation and use artificial intelligence to identify potential sources of danger such as pedestrians, red traffic lights, road damage and the like and to localize them in conjunction with high-precision map and positioning technology from Here.
Low latencies thanks to 5G
Processing and evaluation of the data takes place via multi-access edge computing, i.e. decentralized computing capacity that is available in the immediate vicinity of the road. In the case of edge computing, for example, this can be the same location as the nearest cell tower in order to provide the power as close as possible to the radio interface. With the tried and tested real-time warning system, the data is transmitted to the following road users without delay after evaluation in the form of warning notices via 5G and an intelligent “MQTT Message Broker”. MQTT is a standard for IoT messaging that is supposed to be particularly lightweight and requires little bandwidth. Vodafone states latency times of less than ten milliseconds.
“If cars warn each other of dangers in real time, human lives can be saved,” explained Michael Reinartz, head of innovation at Vodafone Germany. “5G and data processing right on the roadside help to transmit hazard warnings without delay and to make road traffic even safer.” After the first tests, Here, Porsche and Vodafone want to further optimize the real-time warning system and check its use in everyday life. Further tests at different locations and under variable conditions are planned.
Vodafone has been active in road traffic for some time
Feasibility studies in road traffic are not new territory for Vodafone. In 2017, the company, together with Audi and Huawei, showed how automobiles, pedestrians and infrastructure such as traffic lights can communicate with each other using the C-V2X and warn each other in potentially dangerous situations. In Barcelona, the connected car demo was handled via LTE and a data center in Germany, so that latency times of a high 1.5 seconds were the rule at that time.