For the 5GMETA’s Interview series, project Partners present updates of their dedicated work and interest. In this episode, Oscar Castañeda, Senior Consultant, and Janie Baños, Innovation Director at DEKRA share their thoughts on joining the 5GMETA consortium.
By joining the 5GMETA project, DEKRA wants to leverage on the 5G technology that the project has been applying in order to collect and employ road-generated data to enhance services, while providing consortium partners with its expertise on testing, 5G and safety. DEKRA’s intake will allow the 5GMETA Platform to improve its performance, safety and security features.
DEKRA – Global leader of vehicle testing
DEKRA, a global leader of vehicle testing and one of the frontrunners of Inspection and Certification services, has been an ERTICO Partner for years. The collaboration has contributed to make Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) solutions safer and more secure, in line with the European Commission’s “Zero Vision” to close the gap on zero road accidents by 2050.
Digitalisation and innovation in the mobility sphere offer tremendous potential for reducing road deaths and serious accidents. The use of driver assistance systems, designed to either avoid or reduce the severity of accidents, is among the most effective solutions. In order to be able to exploit the potential of CCAM technologies, the attention is redirecting towards collecting road-generated data and further develop ways to employ them at large scale.
DEKRA puts at the centre of its work safety of human interaction with technology and the environment. By focusing on safety and various safety solutions across different scenarios, such as road, work and home environments, DEKRA aims at becoming an international lighthouse in ensuring a safe, secure and sustainable world. DEKRA proactively works for long-term sustainability.
- What prompted your organisation to join the 5GMETA consortium?
DEKRA service portfolio includes testing and certification of products and systems, including telecommunication terminal equipment (e.g., phones, modems, routers, etc.). As such, we deemed compelling to participate in a telecom project such as 5GMETA, in which big data measurements are involved. By joining the project, we will be able to advance with testing methodology and, at the same time, evaluate and further develop our measurement tools.
Moreover, one of the main motivations that attracted us to join the consortium was the possibility of having access to large amounts of vehicle-generated data for assessment processes.
- How do the objectives of the 5GMETA project fit in with the priorities and strategies of your company?
The automotive is one of the leading areas in our company and probably the one that witnessed the most outstanding development in the last years. Positioning ourselves in this market share is highly important and 5GMETA represents a remarkably innovative opportunity.
- Tell us about the role of your company in this project.
We have focused mainly on the evaluation and testing side of the project. We have been providing methodology and testing tools. Our knowledge on 5G technology has also been an important asset on which the project can leverage, and we are happy to support our partners in that matter.
- Can you give us an update about the latest developments?
Lately, we have been working on the set up of measurement tools on the different trial sites, assuring that they all can perform the required measurements. We need to ensure that measurements are comparable.
- What are your next steps and your plans to build upon these results for the future?
We are in charge of coordinating the execution of measurements and the analysis of the results obtained so far.
We are planning to work on the certification of data access security and the deployment of lab testing capabilities for the technologies employed within the project.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 957360 (Innovation Action).
