Audi, Virginia DOT and Qualcomm announce initial C-V2X deployment in Virginia

Audi of America, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, announced plans for initial deployments of Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) communication on northern Virginia roadways, employing advanced wireless communications to enhance vehicle safety by using the same portion of the 5.9 GHz band that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed to allocate for C-V2X.

In line with the Federal Department of Transportation's announcement to establish a First Responder Safety Pilot Programme, the organisations' combined efforts are designed to focus on improving safety for construction workers and motorists alike. The initial deployment is expected to take place on select roadways in Virginia beginning in the third quarter of 2020.

Unique properties of basic C-V2X will be used to deliver work zone warnings on highways as well as signal timing information on approaches to signalised intersections on arterial roadways. In both cases, C-V2X communications can help deliver critical safety messages between vehicles and infrastructure with minimal latency, while less time-sensitive alerts are designed to be provided via C-V2X using the cellular network.

The initial deployments are aimed at expanding safety use cases in the vital connected vehicle safety spectrum established by the FCC, with the aim to curtail road hazards and fatalities. In a given year, traffic fatalities in the US exceed 36,000 people yearly in the US.

This initial deployment is designed for connected car systems designed to boost safety around school buses, warn motorists about dangerous road conditions, alleviate congestion at traffic chokepoints and curbsides, help improve the performance of automated vehicles that are nearing commercialization and even potentially let cars communicate with mobile devices to send warnings that may one day help prevent the more than 6,000 pedestrian fatalities per year.

Work zone warnings, which the organisations feel is an important use case on highways, featuring a Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset solution via an in-vehicle display in Audi Q8 SUVs designed to deliver a graduated warning, with the last link being a low-latency, reliable warning to drivers of the workers' physical presence.

On arterial roadways, the signal phase and timing (SpaT) from a traffic signal, will be transmitted with a Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset solution to Audi Q8 SUVs. These vehicles have the Audi Traffic Light Information (TLI) service that can provide drivers a countdown to the green light. C-V2X from the traffic signal can also provide direct information to the Audi Q8, which will be used by the TLI system to fine-tune the countdown information of the signal phase and timing.

“VDOT has long supported research into the benefits of connected and automated vehicles, particularly those aspects that have the potential to significantly enhance safety,” said Virginia's Director of Transportation Research and Innovation Cathy McGhee. “The inclusion of shorter-range, direct communication in the 5.9 GHz band using C-V2X is exciting, as it can allow us to evaluate this emerging communication option for essential and practical safety and mobility services, including saving the lives of maintenance and construction personnel in work zones.”

“We recognise the immediate value of the spectrum that the FCC proposed to allocate to C-V2X, and we endeavor to show our V2X equipped cars on real roads engaging in how transportation safety and mobility could be jump-started,” said Anupam Malhotra, Director, Connected Vehicle Services, Audi of America. “We are excited about our participation in this pilot deployment as it highlights the broad societal advantages that technology is now poised to deliver through the full 5.9 GHz V2X spectrum near term with far, far more to come as connected and automated vehicle fleets emerge over the next decade.”

Audi already is a leader in V2X services with its Traffic Light Information service operational in 25 cities and nearly 10,000 intersections nationwide including over 1,700 intersections in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region.

“With the advances in cellular communications now enabling us to also offer direct connectivity for safety services, traffic efficiency and emerging automated use cases, we are pleased to work closely with VDOT, Audi of America and Virginia Tech to showcase the commercial maturity and technological sophistication of C-V2X and to start the proliferation of the technology on US roadways,” said Jim Misener, Senior Director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) has been contracted to develop the software and systems necessary to support the primary use cases defined for the initial deployment. Following software development, the institute will then conduct a demonstration of C-V2X technology operating in these use cases.