From cars to mobility: innovations in
Technology review
automotive connectivity
Rugged Ethernet jacks from Bel Magnetics/TRP may be adapted for automotive use.
'Vehicles have been managing a lot of decentralised sensors, actuators and control units for decades now, and there has been a steady evolution in the enabling bus infrastructures.'
Although Ethernet is very widely adopted, frequently using the familiar RJ45 connector, as yet there isn’t a standardised connector for automotive Ethernet implementations. Industry bodies are, however, pushing to define and standardise an interoperable connector and cabling system. Prior experience with Ethernet suggests that this approach will cut production and installation costs, increase reliability, and reduce testing and compliance issues.
Updating wireless automotive interfaces
Although many vehicles now have 3G and 4G connectivity, to enable access to concierge and emergency services and to support in-vehicle WiFi, V2X strategies will demand a lower latency, more deterministic form of wireless connectivity in the shape of the emerging 5G networking standard. As with previous generations, it will take many years for the new standard to be deployed with enough density to fulfil its promise of delivering 100 times more bandwidth than 4G, at 50 times lower latency, and with 100 times more density.
It is these last two figures that matter for V2X communications, especially latency, given that when two vehicles approach each other at a closing speed of 200km/h, they are getting half a metre closer to each other every ten milliseconds. If V2V systems are to be effective for traffic management they will need the lower latency that 5G offers. Given that 5G will run over microwave frequencies with short path lengths,
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successful V2V and V2I strategies for traffic management will demand the installation of many more basestations in cities to provide the necessary reach, capacity and redundancy.
Vehicle makers will have to integrate complex 5G antenna systems into their vehicles, to provide the connectivity necessary to participate fully in V2X strategies. This will mean managing complex RF interactions between the vehicle and the antenna, as well as making robust connections between the antennas and the signal processing that will shape and interpret the transmitted and received signals. These RF subsystems will, in turn, be injecting substantial amounts of data onto the onboard buses to enable analysis and decision making in centralised controllers.
Connectivity is king
McKinsey’s prediction of a Second Great Inflection in the way in which we travel may or may not come to pass. What we can be sure of, though, is that future vehicles will rely on much greater levels of communication, both among their internal systems and with elements of their environment. Well-proven protocols, reliable cabling systems and robust connectors will be vital to ensuring that this communication continues uninterrupted.
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