ConVeX Consortium Hosts Europe’s First Live C-V2X Direct Communication Interoperability Demonstration Between Motorcycles, Vehicles, and Infrastructure

AUDI AG, Ducati, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), SWARCO, the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, and Qualcomm CDMA Technologies GmbH, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), announced Europe’s first live demonstration for C-V2X direct communication interoperability between a motorcycle, vehicles and roadside infrastructure. The companies, which formed the Connected Vehicle to Everything of Tomorrow (ConVeX) consortium last year to carry out the first announced C-V2X trial based upon the 3rd Generation Partnership Project’s (3GPP) Release 14, held the demonstration in Ingolstadt, Germany.  The demonstration featured Audi Q7 and Audi A4 road vehicles, as well as a Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro two-wheel vehicle equipped with C-V2X technology utilizing the Qualcomm® 9150 C-V2X chipset solution.  The showcase demonstrated common situations that can take place between motorcycles and vehicles, and how C-V2X technology can be used to improve road safety.   These include Intersection Collision Warning, where a vehicle equipped with C-V2X technology pulls out from a junction with an adjoining road and avoids hitting a motorcycle rider who has the right of way, as well as Across Traffic Turn Collision Risk Warning, in which a vehicle avoids a left turn collision with a motorcycle. These use cases are part of a wider set of advanced applications that have been demonstrated through the ConVeX project, which also involves vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication using roadside infrastructure units developed by SWARCO and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication using Ericsson’s 4G/5G cellular test network operated at the motorway A9 German digital test field. 

The consortium is co-funded by the participating organizations and the German Federal Ministry of Transportation and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) within the scope of the “Automated and Connected Driving on Digital Test Fields in Germany” program.

As a part of the ConVeX consortium’s ongoing efforts to support the commercial deployment of C-V2X technology, the consortium is continuing to conduct field trials throughout the year to demonstrate the benefits of using a unified C-V2X connectivity platform, as defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project’s (3GPP) Release 14 standard, to showcase range, reliability, and latency advantages for real-time C-V2X direct communications. The goal is to highlight new use cases that are expected to help support traffic flow optimization, improve safety, and pave the path towards automated driving. 

During the trials, C-V2X direct communications for Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) scenarios operates over the 5.9 GHz ITS spectrum without the need for a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), cellular subscription or network assistance. Complementing direct communication transmissions, network-based communications is designed to utilize the wireless operator’s 4G and emerging 5G wireless networks for Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) communication and operates over licensed operator spectrum to support telematics, connected infotainment, and a growing variety of advanced informational safety use cases. V2N scenarios for the trials operates on Ericsson’s 4G and 5G test network in Germany in the cellular 2.6GHz band.  

C-V2X technology is supported by a broad global automotive and telecom ecosystem, which includes the fast growing 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), in which Audi, Ericsson, and Qualcomm Incorporated are amongst the co-founders.  The 5GAA involves over 85 members comprised of many leading automakers, Tier-1 suppliers, software developers, mobile operators, semiconductor companies, test equipment vendors, telecom suppliers, traffic signal suppliers, and road operators.  C-V2X is a global solution for V2X communications to support improved automotive safety, automated & connected driving, and traffic efficiency, and is the only V2X technology based on globally recognized 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specifications with ongoing evolution designed to offer forward compatibility with 5G, and leverages upper layer protocols defined by the automotive industry, including the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) organizations.

“The demonstration of safety use cases with 3GPP compliant C-V2X technology within the ConVeX project between vehicles and motorcycles gives an outlook into the key role that vehicle-to-vehicle and 5G wireless technologies will play in the future of Audi and in the automotive industry,” said Christoph Voigt, Head of Development Connectivity, Mobile Communications, Car2X Technologies for Audi and 5GAA Chairman. “As the ConVeX project trials continue, the project partners will further showcase benefits to road users in safety and other areas, using technology to deliver safer, smoother journeys with less environmental impact.”

“This is the perfect demonstration of use cases in which the modern technologies can drastically improve the safety of future motorcycle users,” said Pierluigi Zampieri, Vehicle Innovation Manager at Ducati Motor Holding spa. “Indeed, the C-V2X communication is definitely one of the key projects of the Ducati 2025 safety road map.”

“At Ericsson, we are convinced that with our Connected Car technology we can contribute to more safety on the roads,” said Stefan Koetz, chairman of the management board of Ericsson GmbH. “This is why we are currently focusing on 5G-based mobility solutions like C-V2X, whether in test series like today’s ConVeX trials or large-scale test fields, such as the 5G Connected Mobility testbed on the A9.”

“The ConVeX project is developing C-V2X technology, with deployments now getting underway and commercialization coming in 2019, so that C-V2X can help provide the life-saving safety benefits that have created so much global interest in the technology,” said Wassim Chourbaji, Vice President of Government Affairs, Qualcomm EMEA. “As a leader in 5G innovation, Qualcomm is working with the ConVeX project to further enhance C-V2X in 3GPP as we enable the evolution to 5G NR, making possible advanced capabilities such as intent and sensor sharing which support automated driving.”

“SWARCO is proud to be the first traffic infrastructure company integrating C-V2X into our solution portfolio as C-V2X becomes part of our ‘C-ITS Ready’ products,” said Michael Schuch, COO SWARCO AG. The standardized and direct interchange between vehicles and traffic control is an unprecedented potential for traffic managers. At SWARCO, we are engaged to make the new link towards vehicles available for our infrastructure customers.”

About Audi
The Audi Group, with its brands Audi, Ducati and Lamborghini, is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the premium segment. It is present in more than 100 markets worldwide and produces at 16 locations in twelve countries. 100 percent subsidiaries of AUDI AG include Audi Sport GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy). 
In 2017, the Audi Group delivered to customers about 1.878 million automobiles of the Audi brand, 3,815 sports cars of the Lamborghini brand and 55,900 motorcycles of the Ducati brand. In the 2017 fiscal year, AUDI AG achieved total revenue of €60.1 billion and an operating profit of €5.1 billion. At present, approximately 90,000 people work for the company all over the world, more than 60,000 of them in Germany. Audi focuses on sustainable products and technologies for the future of mobility.  
www.audi-mediacenter.com/en

About Ericsson
Ericsson enables communications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, and Emerging Business and is designed to help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s investments in innovation have delivered the benefits of telephony and mobile broadband to billions of people around the world. The Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on Nasdaq New York. www.ericsson.com

About Qualcomm
Qualcomm invents breakthrough technologies that transform how the world connects, computes and communicates. When we connected the phone to the Internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our inventions are the foundation for life-changing products, experiences, and industries. As we lead the world to 5G, we envision this next big change in cellular technology spurring a new era of intelligent, connected devices and enabling new opportunities in connected cars, remote delivery of health care services, and the IoT — including smart cities, smart homes, and wearables. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, the QCT semiconductor business. For more information, visit Qualcomm’s website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

About SWARCO
SWARCO – the international traffic technology corporation of Austrian entrepreneur Manfred Swarovski – provides the complete range of products, systems, services and solutions for road safety and intelligent traffic management. Cooperative systems, V2I communication, electromobility, and integrated software solutions for the Smart City are latest, future-oriented fields in the group’s portfolio. German SWARCO TRAFFIC SYSTEMS GmbH, the largest SWARCO company, is a system integrator for urban and interurban traffic control, parking, and detection equipment, with a wide range of services and extensive know-how in V2X communication.
www.swarco.com / www.swarco.com/sts 

About the University of Kaiserslautern
The University of Kaiserslautern, located in the south-west of Germany, is one of the major German research universities renowned for its strengths in the sciences and engineering disciplines. The University of Kaiserslautern is the center of a major European IT and science hub with two Fraunhofer Institutes (IESE and ITWM), the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) working on advanced software systems for the connected society. Professor Schotten is the head of the chair for Wireless Communication and Navigation at the University of Kaiserslautern and scientific director at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).

Qualcomm is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset is product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.