通信行业已经开始坚定不移地执行4G升5G的计划，汽车行业也将受益颇多。一级厂商已经开始将第五代无线技术纳入自身增强车辆安全性，推动自动驾驶发展的计划之中。

在最近举行的移动通信世界大会(Mobile World Congress)上，会议焦点之一就是在2020年左右将5G技术推入市场，通信行业普遍认为，届时互联汽车将扮演重要角色。LG电子(LG Electronics)和英特尔(Intel)已开始合作，致力于将5G技术带入汽车行业。爱立信(Ericsson)和吉利汽车(Geely Auto)则围绕互联汽车服务展开合作，称他们将逐步推出基于5G网络的自动驾驶功能。

5G网络升级已成为全球热点。欧盟委员会(EuropeanCommission)与2013年成立的5G公私合作联盟(5G Public-Private Partnership)强调了5G技术可以从哪些方面提高汽车的安全性。5G网络的逐步升级将改变网联功能的地位。

“过去，更快的网络技术曾成功助力了更多信息娱乐功能的实现。”大陆汽车(Continental Automotive)通信系统研发经理Rob Gee表示，“随着ADAS（高级驾驶员借助系统）的安装率不断提高，我们认为下一代移动网络将逐渐普及，有助于极大地增强车辆自动驾驶系统、提高车辆安全。”

V2V和5G可以共存吗？

升级5G网络很有吸引力，这是因为这种技术可以显著提高带宽并降低延迟。值得注意，延迟对汽车安全的影响非常关键，快速的网络响应对汽车行业必不可少。因此，各大供应商都加足马力，保证5G技术一旦成熟，汽车生产商就有能力快速加以采用。

“伟世通正在投资研发一种车内技术，即无线网关。这种技术可以帮助汽车生产商在无需重建汽车架构的前提下，快速升级为5G网络。”伟世通(Visteon)通信与互联汽车技术部经理Martin Green表示，“我们已经应用了一些4G与5G之间的中间技术，尤其是LTE-V网络互联的实现。”

市场观察者指出，一旦完成测试，通信供应商将有能力快速整合新技术。如今，4G升5G的过渡期将比当初3G升4G短。 

“4G升级至5G相对更加容易，”Frost & Sullivan公司移动性高级研究分析师RamnathEswaravadivoo表示，“成本也不会像当初升4G时那么高，仅需再多建几个信号基站就行了。”

然而， Eswaravadivoo指出在美国新建信号基站并不像在韩国这样面积较小的国家中那么容易。他还认为韩国将成为推广5G技术的领导者。如果美国从2020年开始推广5G，这或许会与V2V/V2I（车间互联及汽车与基础设施互联）通信的发展保持同步。目前，行业已经建立了V2X（车联网）标准，将利用专用短程通信（简称DSRC）促进动驾驶技术的进步。

哈曼(Harman)商业发展总监HansRoth表示，“向自动驾驶方向发展的公司需要借助V2V（车间互联）的力量。” 最近，哈曼在与恩智浦半导体(NXP Semiconductors)合作开发V2X技术。

这就引出了一个问题：V2V与5G技术相互共存、彼此竞争的局面将会是怎样？很多人认为市场存在足够大的空间，可以让这两种技术一起发展。对比之下，针对V2X的研究已经开展了很多年，可以称得上一种相对成熟的选择。

“毫无疑问，5G技术可以实现V2X系统的部分功能，但V2X系统毕竟已经出现很多年了，”恩智浦商业发展汽车高级总监Maurice Geraets表示，“而5G技术明年才计划开始首轮测试。”

V2X与5G这对技术间的竞争可以会发生在基础设施方面。路边站点等V2I连接基础设施的投资方是囊中羞涩的交通管理部门，而5G技术却有资金充裕的网络供应商支持，因此部分公司可能会逐渐向5G技术倾斜。

“LTE-V技术是通向5G技术的一个阶段，这类网络解决方案可以在一定程度上降低基础设施的成本，对于汽车来说尤其如此。”Green表示，“然而，与V2X技术一样，5G网络也同样需要在很多不毛之地建造基础设施，这可不是能赚钱的商业案例。无论是利用5G或是DSRC，任何基于汽车的V2V解决方案都仅能在人口密度足够高的区域发挥作用。”

他指出，因此只能通过“制定强制性国际标准来保证互操作性”，推动基础设施建设。

安全问题

未来可能会出现针对V2X系统的强制规定，很多观察者认为，这些规定是必须的，只有这样才能确保企业投资建造的系统，只有在车辆具备兼容连接条件时才能发挥作用（从而使汽车厂商更加重视车辆兼容连接性的实现）。而当供应商推出更多可以兼容汽车系统的消费产品时，汽车公司才会愿意为5G技术投资。

“一些基于5G网络的非汽车类应用功能开发起来相对容易，比如基于5G技术的家庭门锁，或家庭照明控制模块，这些系统相对简单，很容易独立开发，从而可以极大地增加可无线兼容5G汽车的功能数量。” Gee表示，“一些发展迅速的消费技术将有机会进入汽车领域，OEM也可以选用最适合的车辆交互产品。”

Gee解释说，由于复杂程度和安全方面的更高要求，事故追踪与报告系统等更加复杂的项目仍需更多时间才能实现应用。

对车辆安全的重视也同时凸显了对网络安全功能的需求，由于车辆互联为黑客打开了大门，汽车网络安全问题至关重要。当车辆开始依赖这些通信系统给出的信息做出反应时，本已让人担忧的汽车安全，更是让人愈发忧心忡忡。

“V2X技术对通信系统的安全提出了更高要求，” Roth表示，“所有信息均将进入车辆的电子系统，协助系统做出正确的应对决定。如果车辆接收的信息要求车辆进行制动，那你肯定有必要确定这条信息的真实性。”

作者：Terry Costlow
来源：SAE《汽车工程》杂志
翻译：SAE 上海办公室

Autos gain spotlight as telecoms gear up for 5G

The telecommunications industry has begun firming up plans to upgrade from 4G to 5G cellular networks, citing the automotive industry as an important beneficiary. Tier 1s are beginning to incorporate this fifth-generation wireless technology into their plans to enhance safety as they push towards autonomous driving.

Deploying 5G into the market by around 2020 was a focus at the recent Mobile World Congress, with connected vehicles playing a large role in show's telecom-industry announcements. LG Electronics and Intel teamed up to bring 5G technologies to the vehicle. Ericsson and Geely Auto partnered around connected-car services, saying they will gradually introduce 5G-based autonomous-driving functionality.

Interest in the 5G upgrade is global. The European Commission and the 5G Public-Private Partnership, a consortium formed in 2013, highlighted ways that 5G could improve vehicle safety. The eventual transition to 5G will alter the role of connectivity.

“In the past, faster cellular technologies were perceived as the harbingers for increased infotainment,” said Rob Gee, Telematics Systems Engineering Manager atContinental Automotive. “With the rising installation rates of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), we anticipate the next generations of cellular to be increasingly used to improve highly automated driving systems and to improve vehicular safety.”

Can V2V and 5G coexist?

Upgrading to 5G cellular technology is appealing because it will significantly increase bandwidth while slashing latency. The latter is a critical factor for safety, since quick responses are mandatory. Suppliers are gearing up to ensure that automakers can adapt quickly once 5G materializes.

“Visteon is investing in in-car technology, known as a wireless gateway, which will enable automakers to quickly transition to 5G without having to tear up the vehicle architecture,” said Martin Green, Telematics and Connected Car Technology Manager at Visteon. “We are already incorporating some of the intermediate technologies between 4G and 5G, specifically LTE-Vehicle.”

Market watchers note that once telecom suppliers finish trials, they can incorporate new technologies fairly quickly. The transition from 4G to 5G could be shorter than the shift from 3G to today’s 4G connections. 

“Companies can enhance 4G to 5G comparatively easily,” said Ramnath Eswaravadivoo, Frost & Sullivan’s Mobility Senior Research Analyst. “The costs won’t be nearly as high as they were going to 4G. A couple more towers can make it work.”

However, he noted that in the U.S., adding towers won’t be nearly as easy as in small countries like South Korea, which he said may be a leader in the 5G rollout. If the U.S. rollout begins around 2020, it may coincide with the advent of vehicle-to-vehicle/infrastructure (V2X) communications. The industry has developed V2X standards using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) as an enabler for automated and autonomous driving.

“Companies working towards autonomous driving need V2V capabilities,” said Hans Roth, Director of Business Development at Harman. Harman recently teamed up with NXP Semiconductors to develop V2X technologies.

That raises questions about how V2V and 5G will co-exist and compete. Many believe there’s a spot for both. V2X studies have been going on for years, so it’s viewed as the more mature option.

“5G can definitely do some of the things that V2X can do, but current V2X systems have been in the field for years,” said Maurice Geraets, Senior Director Business Development Automotive at NXP. “5G is still looking at doing its first tests next year.”

The competition aspect of the V2X-5G matchup may occur on the infrastructure side. Vehicle-to-infrastructure links such as roadside stations may require investment by cash-strapped traffic management agencies, so those functions may drift to 5G, leveraging the investment of cellular providers.

“Cellular solutions such as LTE-V, which is on a roadmap to 5G, can partially reduce the infrastructure cost, especially in cars,” Green said. “However, like V2X, the business-case issue of installing service on a roadside in the middle of nowhere remains. A purely car-based V2V solution, whether it is 5G or DSRC, can only be effective when there is sufficient population density."

He noted that this can only be driven by "a mandated approach around international standards to ensure inter-operability.”

Safety and security issues 

Regulatory mandates for V2X systems are expected, and many observers feel they’re necessary to get companies to spend money creating systems that only work if other vehicles have compatible links. Spending on 5G will occur as providers ramp up consumer products that may work with automotive systems.

“Less-complex systems, such as 5G-enabled home door locks or home lighting-control modules, could be developed quickly and independently from the automotive realm and could greatly expand the number of features that are wirelessly compatible with 5G-equipped vehicles,” Gee said. “This would allow such fast-moving consumer technologies to be available for automotive use, allowing OEMs to select the most appropriate products to interface with their vehicles."

More complex projects, such as an incident tracking and reporting system, would still take time due to complexity and its safety-related nature, Gee explained.

The focus on safety also highlights the need for security, which has become a critical issue as connectivity opens doors for hackers. When cars take action based on these communications, already high security concerns are ratcheted up.

“With V2X, there will be even higher needs for secure communications,” Roth said. “All the information goes to vehicle electronics so the system can make the right decisions for action. If your car receives a message that causes it to brake, you must be sure that message is authentic.”

Author: Terry Costlow
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine