Given the amount of data that will be transmitted over them, 5G networks will directly affect three aspects of vehicle safety.
1. Network cards of the next generation . Modern navigation maps have already acquired the function of displaying traffic jams in real time, but at the next stage of their development, there will be much more "live" information. With the help of an increasing number of sensors and cameras, vehicles will continuously monitor the road and the environment. If the vehicle detects a new street, construction work, or a change in the number or configuration of lanes, it will forward this information to the cloud, from which it will be sent to other vehicles, pedestrians and roadside equipment.
2. Expanding communication capabilities. V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) technology allows vehicles to communicate with participants in the transport system, such as other vehicles, infrastructure and pedestrians.
With 5G technology, cars will be able to use the PC5 direct interface (which allows one device to communicate with another over a direct channel) and the Uu interface used by the cell towers for the radio access network. Through 5G, direct communication via PC5 is possible at a distance of up to 600 m, and via Uu - up to 2 km. This means that with the help of the V2X the car will be able to “see” much more moving elements and will have more time (since the observation radius will increase) to respond to traffic events in the direction of travel - accidents, lane closures, ice, wet road or foreign objects on the roadway ...
In addition, the PC5 interface allows the vehicle to interact with mobile phones and other pedestrian and cyclist devices, preventing accidents that could arise from blind spots and people stealthily entering the carriageway between cars. Both the car and the pedestrian / cyclist will receive a warning early enough to take the necessary action to prevent an accident.
3. Automatic software updates.While some vehicles are already getting over-the-air or OTA updates, this will become standard in the future. Vehicle architecture is built around a wide variety of applications, sensors and cameras, and depends on interconnected services to function properly. Such applications must be kept up-to-date and regularly updated over 5G via the vehicle's OTA module. Such updates will become as routine and invisible as the usual software updates on smartphones.
More data, more storage
Connected cars send and receive data so often that they will eventually become a mini data center on wheels.
Data storage plays a key role in card management, V2X security keys, application software, data logging, and OTA buffering. Millions of lines of code that already exist in the car and will remain in it are stored on board in devices based on NAND flash memory, which does not require a power source to preserve data. They also, on the one hand, ensure data security and the ability to optimally and reliably move data between different vehicle systems at any time, and on the other hand, eliminate performance bottlenecks, providing increased processing power for large onboard data and demonstrating high reliability even under conditions vibration or temperature difference. And since the use of V2X will eventually expand beyond cars,Storage systems will also play a critical role in the operation of roadside equipment, smart city devices such as traffic lights and edge and cloud data centers that collect and process this ecosystem of data.
It looks like 5G will open the door to a new era of automotive safety, and the usability of a vehicle's networked features will be determined by its ability to share data as quickly as the 5G network can. Consequently, building an optimal foundation for collecting, storing, accessing and transforming data will be key to making drivers and passengers safer on the road.