Ericsson-led 5GCAR project gets EU funding

The 5GCAR project led by Ericsson has been selected as part of phase 2 of the 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G PPP) and is eligible for European Union (EU) funding, the company announced last week.

In the 5G PPP, the 5G Infrastructure Association (5G IA) represents the private side and the European Commission the public side. The 5G IA is focused on Europe and advancing 5G there, and the 5GCAR project is just one of 21 new projects launched June 1 as phase 2 of the 5G PPP.  

The car consortium led by Ericsson aims to develop an overall 5G system architecture for end-to-end vehicle-to-everything (V2X) network connectivity for low-latency V2X services. The 5GCAR project will run for two years and employ about 30 full-time researchers with a budget of EUR 8 million, or about $8.9 million U.S.

Among the 5GCAR’s objectives are:

  • to develop a secure and scalable sidelink interface for low-latency, high-reliability V2X communications
  • propose 5G radio-assisted positioning techniques for both vulnerable road users and vehicles to increase the availability of very accurate localization
  • identify business models and spectrum usage alternatives that support a range of 5G V2X services
  • demonstrate and validate the developed concepts and evaluate the quantitative benefits of 5G V2X solutions using automated driving scenarios in test sites

Besides Ericsson, the 5GCAR involves 13 other partners: Bosch, Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Centro Tecnológico de Automoción de Galicia, Chalmers University of Technology, Huawei, King's College London, Marben, Nokia, Orange, PSA group, Sequans, Viscoda and Volvo Cars.

In the U.S., there’s been contention between the auto industry’s desire to use Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) and the tech industry’s call for using cellular V2X (C-V2X). Some believe systems will start out as DSRC and migrate to cellular-based systems, but the end game is far from clear.

RELATED: Qualcomm: ‘Steadfast’ supporter of DSRC sees C-V2X providing clear path forward

Qualcomm, which plays in both DSRC and cellular realms, has argued that the U.S. government should not make DSRC the de facto winning standard and points out that C-V2X technology is supported by a broad ecosystem based on 3GPP Release 14 specifications.

RELATED: AT&T, Samsung join 5GAA in pursuit of the connected-car market

Earlier this year, the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and the European Automotive Telecom Alliance (EATA) signed an agreement to work together to foster cooperation in the field of connected and autonomous driving solutions as well as standardization, spectrum and related use cases.