This transformative momentum may intensify with the massification of the Internet of Things (IoT), the advance of automation and the irruption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in everyday life, three elements that have been accelerating the emergence of the first truly smart city.
In the following lines we will explain in simple words, how 5G communication can transform mobility in our cities and increase the safety of drivers on the road.
In addition, we will explain some of the challenges that this new evolution of communications will face.
What is 5G?
The fifth generation of mobile networks, also known as 5G, is the latest technology in communications, which promises faster data rates, significantly lower latency rates and higher capacity than all previous generations.
All these capabilities come from the evolution of technologies such as virtualization, network slicing and network intelligence.
Of course, the implementation process of 5G communication is still in its early stages, with Spain being the country where the largest number of pilot tests are taking place.
Among the main technical characteristics associated with 5G technology, the following stand out:
- Up to 10Gbps data rate
- 1 millisecond latency
- 100% coverage
- Allows up to 1 million devices per square kilometer to be connected
- Reduces grid energy consumption by up to 90%.
Undoubtedly, it represents a remarkable advance over the 4G LTE and 4.5G networks that dominate the current telecommunications scene.
A new concept of mobility thanks to 5G communication
The projected new mobility concept is characterized by vehicles capable of communicating and interacting with their environment (road infrastructure, other vehicles, etc.) in a safe, autonomous and internet-connected manner.
The main goal is to ensure that new intelligent mobility technologies can drastically reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in traffic accidents.
Although this may sound like a utopian scenario straight out of a Sci Fi movie, the reality is that it is already in the testing period.
The European Union’s (EU) 5GMED project has demonstrated how 5G communication enables advanced connected and automated mobility in the cross-border corridor between Spain and France.
Simultaneously, the 5G-ROUTES project related to cross-border connectivity and analyzing the ability of vehicles to communicate with each other and their environment thanks to 5G communication, is testing on the border crossing shared by Estonia, Latvia and Finland.
In this case, it collects the first use case demonstrations of V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) communication facilitated by 5G connectivity, pursuing safer roads and more efficient traffic at borders.
5G-ROUTES collects data that can be used to make improvements to existing driving assistance systems.
Vehicle-to-vehicle information exchange: an essential element for mobility changes
Until now, the only person responsible for controlling the behavior of vehicles was the driver, making road incidents a matter for drivers.
However, innovations in the automotive sector have made it possible for cars to stop driving in isolation on the road and interact with other traffic .
This momentous change is due to wireless technologies aimed at enabling the exchange of information between vehicles, facilitated by 5G communication.
- Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication: V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) connectivity allows vehicles to exchange information with each other in real time.
Shared data includes location, speed, direction, acceleration and other critical vehicle parameters. - Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication: The concept of V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) communication is understood as the exchange of information between vehicles and elements belonging to the road infrastructure, such as traffic lights, traffic signals, charging stations, and traffic control centers.
- Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication: Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication encompasses the connectivity of vehicles with any entity that can influence or be influenced by the vehicle.
This involves interaction with networks (V2N), road infrastructure and pedestrians (V2P).
Major changes in urban mobility driven by 5G communication
All of the above has a direct influence on the changes
changes that are coming in urban mobility at a global level, among them:
- Optimization in traffic management: Thanks to 5G communication, it is possible to collect real-time data on vehicle flow, traffic conditions and driver behavior, resulting in more efficient traffic planning.
Intelligent traffic lights could even be dynamically adjusted according to the actual traffic flow. - Automated and autonomous mobility: Although autonomous vehicles already exist, automation is now moving into traditional forms of public, maritime and rail transport, and is no longer a type of technology that only benefits a privileged few.
Of course, this is accompanied by a substantial improvement in environmental sustainability. - Improvements in mass public transport management: Another important change related to the previous point is the focus on developing more efficient mass public transport management.
The high speed and low latency in 5G communication makes it possible to use real-time information to determine occupancy levels and the optimal interval at which vehicles in a fleet should depart.
Of course, innovation in mobility brings with it certain challenges
Security implications Both the communication between vehicles and road infrastructure, as well as the collection and analysis of massive data, pose new challenges in terms of cybersecurity, making the preservation of system integrity a priority.
Cloud-Native infrastructure development and implementation Similarly, all this work overload requires immense analysis capacity, which can only be provided by Cloud-Native systems.
These are highly scalable and flexible, ideal for meeting real-time demand. Petri Alonso, Managing Director Private Sector