Cellular V2X Communication

Cellular V2X (Vehicle to Everything) communication has strong potential to become a key enabler for automated driving and intelligent mobility. C-V2X allows to communicate via the LTE network using the 3GPP Release 14, and in future, the 5G mobile network. Cellular V2X is also designed to directly connect vehicles with each other as well as with the infrastructure and further road users. Even in areas without mobile network coverage, C-V2X communication allows an exchange of time sensitive and safety critical information, for example about warnings of potentially hazardous situations. 

According to the “Global status report on road safety 2018”, launched by WHO in December 2018, the number of annual road traffic deaths has reached 1.35 million. Road traffic injuries are now the leading killer of people aged 5-29 years.

Continental is committed to reducing the number of traffic accidents, making the roads safer for all road users. Therefore, Continental is forming strong partnerships with companies like Vodafone to develop innovations that help to better protect drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and other potential road users.

Jointly we are optimizing the wireless network to cope with the immense data requirements of the automotive industry at Vodafone’s 5G Mobility Lab. Tomorrow’s fully automated vehicles will generate up to one gigabyte of data every minute, some of which will be shared with other road users. 5G, the next generation of cellular network technology, will be capable of processing up to 10 gigabits of data per second and make it possible for millions of cars to communicate with each other simultaneously. Road users can only warn each other of potential hazards if they are able to share data in real time. Cellular V2X technology makes that possible because it connects the vehicle to the cloud and facilitates information sharing between vehicles or between vehicles and other road users.

Continental and Vodafone are also testing mobile edge computing technology (MEC) – a technology that enables cloud computing capabilities and an IT service environment at the edge of the cellular network. This technology significantly reduces both the volume of data to be transmitted as well as the transmission path and puts information processing speeds into an entirely new dimension.