5GMETA Partner Interview Series #8 – Links

 

ERTICO’s valued partner LINKS Foundation is a pioneer in implementing edge services for connected vehicles. As an innovator in digital transformation with expertise in the R&D field, LINKS is making an important contribution in the 5GMETA project.

The 5GMETA project represents a technological boost for tomorrow’s mobility: leveraging the use of road-generated data through platforms is key to expanding business opportunities in the automotive ecosystem. Being part of the 5GMETA project allows LINKS to expand their expertise on different solutions, which span from On Board Units (OBUs) to Smart Road Side Units (RSUs) with advanced AI and video processing modules. At the same time, LINKS will benefit from the project’s results as the 5GMETA Platform will expand monetisation possibilities for the partners involved. Being part of such an innovative project means becoming one of the leaders of the future of mobility.

ERTICO is happy to share LINKS’s vision of the 5GMETA project.

 

  • What prompted your organisation to join the 5GMETA consortium?

LINKS Foundation is a private research centre focused on applied research. For the past 12 years, LINKS has been working to deliver innovative solutions for a safer and more efficient transportation system, with a mission to support technological development in the field of Cooperative Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM). In the meantime, 5G technology has emerged as the next big trend in vehicular communications, and LINKS deemed 5GMETA a project through which the Foundation’s skills could be advanced.

The LINKS Foundation’s entry into the 5GMETA project is a strategic move that positions the Foundation at the forefront of the 5G and CCAM revolution.

  • How do the objectives of the 5GMETA project fit in with the priorities and strategies of your company?

LINKS was already active in several H2020 CCAM-related projects, like AUTOPILOT and ICT4CART, where it started the exploration of 5G + edge as an effective combination for vehicular communications. Moreover, LINKS started to build modules focused on managing ETSI C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems) messages on the edge and cloud of the network. All these skills perfectly fit the 5GMETA objectives. This was integrated by LINKS’s capabilities in designing and implementing new services in the CCAM field and its willingness to explore the CCAM market and its unique opportunities. Moreover, the involvement of the team in the market/business-oriented activities of 5GMETA is aligned with LINKS assets valorisation and technology transfer initiatives.

  • Tell us about the role of your company in this project.

LINKS is responsible for Work Package 2, in which it helped define the requirements and design the 5GMETA architecture. Moreover, LINKS is active in implementing several platform modules and will provide OBU (on-board units) and RSU (roadside units) for the Italian pilot. Finally, in the framework of Work Package 6, LINKS leads tasks to analyse the new market opportunities in the CCAM field, contribute to stakeholders mapping and provide insights about the enabled business models for third parties.

  • Can you give an update about the latest developments?

We have just finished the implementation of the second version of some platform modules, and we are now focusing on the implementation of a virtual OBU, useful to simulate real connected vehicles to help the test of the platform and the implementation of new services. We are also working on a Digital Twin module that will help build the definition of new services at the edge of the 5G network.

  • What are your company’s next steps in the project? 

LINKS will finalise the implementation and testing of the platform, and will focus on testing the Wrong Way Driving use case.

  • What are your plans to build upon these results for future initiatives?

LINKS, as an applied research Foundation, will search for opportunities to transfer the knowledge built to industries and to continue the development of CCAM modules in other research initiatives.

  • Would you like to add anything more? 

We want to invite anyone to consider the 5GMETA Second Hackathon as a great opportunity to test the Platform and as a possibility to start working in the CCAM field. Moreover, the event will be hosted at the ITS European Congress: such a venue will increase the opportunities for participants to access and create a great network building in the ITS world.

 

The 5GMETA project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 957360 (Innovation Action).