Huawei said the 5G demo lays the foundation for future development of connected vehicles
China Mobile, the world’s largest telecommunications company, together with Chinese companies SAIC Motor and Huawei Technologies have completed a demonstration of what it claims to be the world’s first 5G remote driving technology with a consumer car.
The companies said that the demonstration verified the high-bandwidth, low-latency potential in C-band frequencies, laying a foundation for future development of connected smart vehicles.
Chinese vendor Huawei provided the 5G wireless solution that connected SAIC Motor’s smart concept car, the iGS. Meanwhile, China Mobile provided the connectivity required for the demo.
In the test, the driver was located more than 30 kilometers away from the vehicle. Several high-definition video cameras installed in the vehicle sent multiple real-time HD video feeds to the driver, providing him with a 240-degree view of the vehicle’s surroundings over a high-bandwidth network based on likely 5G technologies.
Control signals for the steering wheel, gas pedal, and brakes were also transmitted over the 5G network, which provided the ultra-low latency needed to support instant response to different roadside conditions, the companies said. From his remote position, the driver was able to maintain full control over the vehicle at all times.
According to Huawei, remote driving has a broad range of potential applications in the future, especially in particularly harsh or dangerous environments like mining sites and waste disposal sites. Remote driving can also be used to complement autonomous vehicles. “With remote driving, a single person can control an entire fleet of vehicles or manually intervene in situations that require human input, such as remote management of car-sharing resources, or in emergency situations, such as rescue missions in disaster zones,” Huawei said.
“As digital transformation picks up pace around the world, connected smart cars will become a primary focus of the information and communications technology industry. China Mobile, SAIC Motor, and Huawei are actively engaged in the research, development, and field-testing of solutions for real-life 5G autonomous driving applications,” the vendor added.
