Award-Winning Connected Car Project: "Real-Time Communication via the LTE Mobile Network" Wins Best-Practice Competition
- Initiative organized by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy honors best-practice solutions for intelligent networking
- Top spot for "Real-Time Communication between vehicles via the LTE Mobile Network"
- Project aim: to improve road safety and prevent traffic jams through mobile technology
Hanover, March 16, 2016. The "Real-Time Communication between vehicles via the LTE Mobile Network" project jointly launched by Continental, Deutsche Telekom, the Fraunhofer ESK Institute, and Nokia on the A9 motorway in Germany has won the top award in the best-practice competition of the Intelligent Networking Initiative in the "Traffic" category. All award winners were honored during Cebit 2016 by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Intelligent Networking Initiative.
The competition winners were decided by a jury of experts in digitization from the German National IT Summit, the Intelligent Networking Initiative, and the Open Innovation Community. "With the 'Applications on the A9 Digital Test Track' project, we are especially delighted to honor a partnership of telecommunication companies, the automotive industry, and research. Broad and transparent dialog is a core element of the Intelligent Networking Initiative, and the project is a real-life example of how cross-industry cooperation is contributing to the success of digitization in Germany," said Thilo Zelt, head of the Intelligent Networking Initiative.
Pooling expertise for safe driving and real-time communication
In this award-winning joint project, vehicles traveling on the digital test track – the A9 Autobahn – share hazard information via the LTE mobile network. This is accomplished by the use of technology, to be defined by the global, 5G communication standard. For the first time, communication takes place virtually in real time because the signal latency between two vehicles is reduced to less than 20 milliseconds through the use of plug-in modules – or "cloudlets" – installed at the LTE base stations.
During test drives on the A9 motorway vehicles can share hazard information using the LTE network of Deutsche Telekom.
By pooling their core competencies, the project partners have demonstrated how large-scale, real-time communication between vehicles and infrastructure could look in the future. The LTE mobile technology was developed by Nokia and the network constructed by Deutsche Telekom. Nokia contributed the “cloudlets” using Mobile-Edge Computing technology, which, in combination with the position-locating technology developed by Fraunhofer ESK, ensures rapid data transmission. The vehicle electronics interface developed by Continental allows the implementation of a range of applications, designed to make driving safer and more comfortable.
Statement by Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, CTO, Deutsche Telekom:
"The development of 5G technology has reached an exciting phase globally. We're not just talking about it – we're trialing it, too. Our joint project demonstrates how driving can be made much safer. This is all possible thanks to an intelligent infrastructure that adapts itself in line with people's needs and, in this case, allows an extremely long time in which to react, and helps to prevent hazardous situations."
Real-time communication with other vehicles and with the road and communications infrastructure leads to fewer traffic fatalities and lower energy consumption.
Statement by Frank Försterling, Head of Sales and Portfolio for Interior Electronics Solutions, in the Interior Division at Continental:
"Receiving this award for best-practice solution in the Traffic sector strengthens our resolve to continue developing intelligent mobility of the future. From the point of view of Continental, the internet actually improves the vehicle because real-time communication among road users with other vehicles and the infrastructure enhances safety, comfort, and efficiency on the roads."
Statement by Markus Borchert, Senior Vice President, Market Europe, Nokia Networks:
“We are convinced that intelligent mobile network technology can help to ensure that the number of traffic accidents will decrease in the future and that driving will be safer. Mobile Edge Computing as the technological core of our project brings cloud computing to the road, accelerates the communication between drivers and vehicles and provides the blueprint for the development of 5G networks. The success of the project honored with this award strengthens our strong belief that mobile technology is an important element for safe and connected driving.”
Thanks to 5G communication standard and Mobile Edge Computing, the signal runtime between vehicles is reduced to less than 20 milliseconds by deploying cloudnets.
Statement by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rudi Knorr, director of the Fraunhofer ESK institute:
"An important step into the future of digital mobility is the ability to link physical vehicles with the digital data environment, which offers new opportunities and challenges. The next step now is to realize new application scenarios for networked driving thanks to seamless and reliable communication concepts over longer sections of the Autobahn. This award for our project is testament to successful collaboration between companies in the telecommunications, automotive, and IT sectors with the support of applied research conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute."
Partnership set to continue on upcoming project
With a follow-up project focusing on vehicle networking, Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Fraunhofer ESK, Nokia, and, for the first time, the management and IT-consultancy MHP – A Porsche Company - are planning to continue this award-winning partnership. Olaf Kleindienst, Associated Partner at MHP: "We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring our many years of experience in the automotive industry to the table in order to expand the market for networked and intelligent mobility and develop initial business models." Under the title "Road Safety Applications Based on Vehicle Communication via LTE and Mobile-Edge Computing (MEC)", the project partners are aiming to draft, develop and test further applications on the already established A9 Autobahn test track in order to contribute the positioning of Germany as a pioneer and market leader in the field of intelligent mobility and automated driving.
Sebastian Fillenberg
Head of Content, Media Spokesperson and Topic Manager Architecture and Networking
Continental Automotive
Christian Fischer
Corporate Communications
Deutsche Telekom AG
Hans-Thomas Hengl
PR-Referent Automotive, Telecommunication
Fraunhofer-Institut für Eingebettete Systeme und Kommunikationstechnik ESK
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80686 München
Bernhard Fuckert
Media Relations
Nokia Networks
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81541 München
Katharina Krumbholz
Public Relations
MHP – A Porsche Company
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71638 Ludwigsburg