During Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2018, China Mobile, SAIC, and Huawei jointly demonstrated the application of intelligent & connected vehicles using the low-latency network enabled by 5G Era LTE and the cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology. The demonstration involved a human operator who remotely and precisely controlled the out-field fleet via the driving control console located at the exhibition hall. The accuracy of control is realized with the help of low-latency technology that reduces the E2E latency to below 20 ms and the HD video backhaul technology.
The in-depth fusion of 5G Era LTE and V2X enables intelligent & connected vehicles to cruise in a fleet pattern and be fully informed of the latest traffic light signaling indications. The demonstration proves that the interwoven technologies serve as a solid foundation for the future rapid development of intelligent & connected vehicles.
The intelligent & connected vehicles used in this demonstration are independently developed by SAIC. Wireless communications are based on China Mobile’s network, which is equipped with low-latency and HD video backhaul solutions offered by Huawei. China Mobile is also the provider of the E2E remote driving system that features the up-to-date edge computing technology.
Intelligent & connected vehicles have rigid, high requirements for network latency, as remote driving, fleet cruising, and acquisition of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) traffic light indications are error-intolerable. Driving instructions must be delivered without failure or delay, so as to handle all possible emergency situations on the road and ensure a safe and optimal driving experience. The low-latency solution, as a prominent component of 5G Era LTE, adopts air-interface scheduling acceleration and a multitude of additional technologies to meet stringent service requirements. The introduction of Short TTI further reduces E2E latency to within 10 ms. Carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO, and a wide range of other technologies help to realize HD video backhaul that in turn enables the remote driving commander to learn road conditions in real time.
C-V2X boasts great potential that can be later unleashed in the fields of automatic driving and smart mobile travel. C-V2X implements a wide range of connection services for vehicles, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), V2I, vehicle-to-network (V2N), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) services. C-V2X is a powerful enabler for intelligent & connected vehicles, in terms of three-vehicle fleet management, traffic light indications, and other related aspects (as demonstrated on this occasion).