Evolution of Telematics and V2X

Telematics services have evolved progressively with cellular technology. It started with Emergency Call and Roadside assistance with the help of a 2G network. 4G-LTE has increased the number of possible services by enabling over-the-air updates, advanced diagnostics, and remote services. Moreover, 5G is expected to provide new services like prescriptive diagnostics, automatic Emergency Calls, Virtual Mechanic, advanced telematics. V2X, on the other hand, is an emerging technology. V2X works on two communication standards, Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) and Cellular V2X (C-V2X). DSRC is a variant based on Wi-Fi technology that enables direct communication between the vehicle and between vehicles and infrastructure. C-V2X is cellular-based, depending on network access provided by the 4G/LTE/5G spectrum to establish a communication channel with different entities.

5G technology, equipped to support many connections, combined with telematics and V2X, will pave the way for smart cities by planning and managing road traffic. C-V2X features associated with 5G came with the first evolution of the 5G standard in 2019. C-V2X will continue to evolve as part of the 5G roadmap to improve performances with extended range, higher density, high throughput and reliability, accurate positioning, and low latency. The adaption rate is poised to increase in the coming future; hence, it will present enough data for city planners to plan and construct efficient routes, traffic lights, etc. This data will help us design and achieve the optimal traffic flow, which will reduce the risk of road accidents and thus provide safe and integrated traffic management solutions.

Telematics & V2X Driving Safer Mobility

Telematics and Vehicle to Everything (V2X) are intelligent and new-age mobility technologies that enable rapid innovation in the automotive industry. By 2024 more than 11.2 million light vehicles are expected to be equipped with some form of V2X system, which will represent 12 percent of the light vehicles 1. Telematics and V2X will play a pivotal role in enhancing the safety of vehicle occupants and other road users like pedestrians and bicyclists. Estimates show that 80 percent of accidents can be avoided by deploying intelligent technology.

For V2X technology, devices communicate with the help of Omni-direction radio signals, offering 360-degree coverage. It allows equipped vehicles to virtually ‘see’ each other and exchange crucial information even though the vehicles are in the line of sight or not. Telematics is a technology that provides a method to monitor vehicles and enable the exchange of information between the vehicle and a control centre.

This information plays a crucial role in improving the safety and security of the vehicle and vehicle occupants. In addition, it provides features and functionalities like airbag deployment notification, real-time location of the vehicle, emergency and roadside assistance, which helps decrease the response time in case of any emergency.

V2X and telematics not only make road transport safer but also provide a comfortable and convenient environment to vehicle occupants by offering services as a live concierge. Subsequently, Telematics and V2X also help improve traffic efficiency with the help of features like route optimization.

Next-Gen Automotive Needs

Automobile manufacturers are using intelligent mobility technologies, Telematics, and V2X to increase the safety of vehicle occupants as well as vulnerable road users. Telematics and V2X will play a crucial role in the combined effort of reducing the number of traffic accidents and boosting road safety.

In-Vehicle to Everything (V2X) market Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) is expected to have the largest market share. OEMs and suppliers are expected to focus more on the V2V features like Forward Collision Warning, Electronic Emergency Brake Light, Left Turn Assist, Blind Spot Warning, Do Not Pass Warning, Lane Change Warning, and more. As governments and manufacturers worldwide are focusing on increasing the safety of vehicle occupants, these features will be available in future vehicles. Development and deployment of 5G will is a critical enabler, providing reliable communication with incredible bandwidth and low latency. Additionally, 5G will enable car manufacturers to provide better service delivery, especially for Day 2 (using sensor data shared by other vehicles) and Day3 (Coordinated maneuvering – Highway traffic) V2X Use Cases.

As the use of telematics and V2X is growing, cloud technology is becoming prevalent to manage the enormous amount of data effectively and efficiently.

Data, Regulations, and Validation Challenges

Telematics devices and V2X applications generate humungous amounts of data from the vehicle and external road infrastructures. These data need to be crunched and analyzed to provide safety and security of the vehicle, vehicle occupants, and passers-by. This data provides analysis of driving styles, real-time vehicle diagnostics, road conditions, locations, and many more. Some estimates predict that connected cars can produce up to 25 GB of data every hour, and by 2023, there will be up to 352 million connected cars on the road. Collecting and processing this enormous amount of data will be challenging for car manufacturers. Additionally, car manufacturers should ensure that data collation is in line with the data privacy and security norms. Car manufacturers must also create awareness about the data collection methods and their use to increase customers’ willingness to share the data.

Car manufacturers are trying to leverage cutting-edge technologies like Cloud services and Big Data to store and process the data. Cloud computing and Big Data provide capabilities to manage the data as efficiently.

Regulator Indecision

Regulators over the globe are still working to decide on the technology to be used for V2X communication. Although the US government has asked Car manufacturers their opinion on communication technology like DSRC and C-V2X, it has evoked differing responses. EU regulators have also conducted the same exercise, and most members have rejected the Wi-Fi-based DSRC system.

The lack of clarity on regulation has slowed down the implementation pace of V2X. However, consortiums and automakers are driving the adoption. For Example, the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is pushing for C-V2X in North America. Of course, automakers have their preference, but regulatory decisions will only lead to the wide-scale use of a particular technology.

Rigorous Testing Requirements

As Telematics and V2X technology become prevalent, testing and validation become essential. It consists of various equipment, applications, and services, and it is required to test all these components together in a real-world scenario. It is challenging to imitate millions of road cases with multiple cars and roadside infrastructure. While testing V2X, we also need to consider the inconsistency or non-reliability of a communication network. Field testing is cost-intensive, which involves the usage of test tracks, infrastructure, and actual vehicles. It is complicated to set up high-density traffic and infrastructure to test the broad spectrum of test cases involving Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P), and more. Also, V2X systems are constantly changing; therefore, changes will be required in the testing systems. Also, V2X testing should be flexible enough to adapt to new developments.

Telematics and V2X Implementation

Telematics and V2X technology are poised for mass-market adoption, as they are relevant to all vehicle types, including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and Off-Highway vehicles. Telematics and V2X will play a pivotal role in future mobility - Electric and Autonomous Vehicles.

Implementation of Telematics and V2X requires a well-defined development framework that can meet complex development and testing challenges under time and cost constraints. Furthermore, software electronics being the critical components of this technology, it needs to be hack-proof and fail-safe; therefore, Functional safety is recommended to mitigate risks in case of any hardware or software failure. Furthermore, as vehicles connect to external infrastructure, they are subject to cyber-attack; hence cybersecurity plays an essential role in protecting the connected ecosystem.