The more connected cars become, the more data they need at faster speeds and greater reliability.
This is the promise of 5G and the founding purpose behind the new 5G Automotive Association, a joint collaboration between global telecoms and carmakers.
The founding members are Germany’s big three of Daimler, Audi and BMW, along with Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm. The association says that it’s open to more partners.
Two things are going on here. The first is that 5G is vital for realizing connected infotainment and the continuous stream of high-quality data and mapping needed for the self-driving car revolution.
Even though 5G technology is already developed, telecoms are saying that existing networks won’t be upgraded until 2020 at the earliest. Automakers want to expedite that.
Second, tech companies like Uber and Google are poised to displace traditional automakers in the self-driving car era and automakers want to stop that by partnering with other tech companies as quickly and prudently as possible. It’s no coincidence that Daimler, Audi and BMW were the same three to outbid Google and Uber in acquiring mapping company HERE last year.
Speaking of HERE, the company announced last week that its Open Location Platform will be commercially available starting in 2017. The platform harnesses real-time data generated by the on-board sensors of connected vehicles to create a live depiction of the road environment.
Drivers will be able to access this view of the road through four services that provide information on traffic conditions, potential road hazards, traffic signage and on-street parking. No word on pricing yet but HERE’s biggest customers for the platform are expected to be carmakers themselves.
Read more of the original article at TU Automotive.
