What is true for people is also true for cars: communication works best with a common language and a good connection. To enable connected and automated driving in the future, vehicles must be able to easily communicate with one another as well as with their surroundings. There is currently no globally standardized technical basis for this exchange of data, which is known as vehicle-to-everything communication, or V2X. Instead, vehicles will in future communicate using the wide variety of different standards implemented by countries and vehicle manufacturers around the world. “Bosch is taking a multi-standard approach when it comes to V2X. We have developed a universal connectivity unit capable of communicating using all of the transmission standards implemented in connected automobiles,” says Dr. Dirk Hoheisel, Member of the Board of Management at Robert Bosch GmbH.
The neat thing here is that Bosch has combined connectivity units and telematics units, which – individually – are only capable of a single transmission technology, to create an all-in-one central control unit for V2X data communication. Cars can then use the Wi-Fi networks available in cities, while elsewhere they can communicate using, for instance, cellular networks. The complex task of managing these diverse communication options is handled by a software solution from the Silicon Valley-based start-up Veniam. It continuously searches for the best transmission technology that suits the particular requirements and switches automatically between the available alternatives. The software therefore maintains continuous and seamless vehicle connectivity, ensuring cars can, for example, reliably alert one another to accidents and passengers can enjoy uninterrupted music streaming.
Bosch develops a connectivity unit for all standards
It is expected that the number of connected vehicles on the roads in Europe, the United States, and China alone will exceed 470 million by 2025 (source: PwC). Initially, most vehicles will connect directly to the cloud; but, thanks to V2X, increasing numbers of vehicles will in future also be able to communicate directly with one another as well as with traffic signals, road construction sites, pedestrian crossings, and buildings, etc. They will then be able to alert one another to potential hazards like the approaching tail end of a traffic jam, accidents, and icy conditions. Vehicles will also be able to take advantage of the green wave, because they will know when the next set of traffic lights is going to turn green. The vehicles can then adjust their speed accordingly. This ensures the traffic, particularly in cities, flows more smoothly. There is, however, no globally harmonized standard for V2X communication currently on the horizon. While China primarily uses Cellular-V2X technology (C-V2X), which is based on mobile communications, Europe and the United States are planning to additionally introduce transmission standards based on Wi-Fi (DSRC and ITS-G5) alongside C-V2X. A mishmash of standards is therefore emerging internationally, which may lead to vehicle communication issues. However, that will not be the case in the future when cars are equipped with the universal connectivity unit from Bosch. Equipped vehicles will be able to communicate with one another as well as with their surroundings regardless of the vehicle make or the country in which they are used. This will make V2X communication even more secure and reliable. “Thanks to Bosch’s all-in-one principle for connected vehicles, as many drivers as possible around the world can benefit from the added safety, comfort, and convenience provided by V2X,” says Dirk Hoheisel.
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Source and photo credits: Bosch
