{"id":79365,"date":"2020-02-14T06:30:31","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T05:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stradeeautostrade.it\/?p=79365"},"modified":"2022-02-22T17:03:16","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T16:03:16","slug":"connected-car-scenarios-for-the-next-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stradeeautostrade.it\/en\/smart-road-digital-transformation\/connected-car-scenarios-for-the-next-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Connected car: scenarios for the next future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Connected car: scenarios for the next future \"\"\u00a0 Per la versione in Italiano: <\/em>https:\/\/www.stradeeautostrade.it\/its-smart-road\/auto-connessa-scenari-per-il-prossimo-futuro\/<\/a><\/p>\n

In recent months the process towards the connected car has\u00a0accelerated: on March 13 the Commission published,\u00a0as a \u201cdelegated act\u201d, the Regulation for the activation of\u00a0C-ITS cooperative services, services that are based on\u00a0continuous\u00a0connection\u00a0between vehicles (V2V), between these and the infrastructure (V2I) and the various\u00a0other traffic players (V2X).<\/p>\n

The Regulation, which currently\u00a0does not oblige States and operators to implement the services but binds them to\u00a0specifications, is intended to enter into force on 1 January 2020,\u00a0unless Parliament and the Council take action to request\u00a0changes or slips.<\/p>\n

The Regulation raised strong objections for the possible\u00a0lack of \u201ctechnological neutrality\u201d which resulted in a proposal\u00a0for a blocking resolution of the European Parliament (rejected by the\u00a0Majority), in a similar proposal to the Council (under\u00a0examination) and in various articles of press, which even cited\u00a0a – non-existent – G5-5G competition (delegated regulation of 13 March 2019 which integrates Directive 2010\/40\/EU of\u00a0the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the diffusion and\u00a0operational\u00a0use\u00a0of cooperative intelligent transport systems).<\/p>\n

\"Connected
1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The reason for the dispute\u00a0is the choice – for the short time and for the\u00a0short distance\u00a0connection only\u00a0– of the \u201cG5\u201d technology inspired by \u201cWi-Fi\u201d,\u00a0and the simultaneous \u201cputting on hold\u201d of its alternative\u00a0(\u201cVTE-LTX\u201d, of telephone inspiration).<\/p>\n

The Regulation\u00a0opens the way for future technologies, committing the\u00a0Commission to incorporate new specifications, and inviting all Stakeholders to collaborate actively in the process\u00a0in order to preserve the principle of technological neutrality, but it is clear that – having to meet compatibility\u00a0and interoperability requirements – potential successors see the risk\u00a0of increasing costs and difficulties.<\/p>\n

Objections and disputes, if not\u00a0quickly resolved positively, can only create\u00a0uncertainty among operators and delay the launch of cooperative services. These services which, it should be noted, have as a basic requirement the\u00a0possibility for all vehicles to communicate always and in any case\u00a0with the their neighbors, regardless of the type and brand of vehicles,\u00a0the technologies installed, the presence of telephone networks.<\/p>\n

In another\u00a0report (“S&A” n\u00b0 136 July\/August 2019, page 170), Enrico Zucca <\/span>clarifies the nature of the two technologies that are\u00a0currently competing and their perspectives.<\/p>\n

In the following we will try\u00a0to offer some considerations on the wider scenario\u00a0of vehicle connections, distinguishing, where possible, between two different\u00a0types: the \u201ccooperative\u201d connections (all\u00a0traffic\u00a0players\u00a0communicate with each other, in a standardized way) and the\u00a0\u201dgeneral\u201d\u00a0connections\u00a0purpose\u201d (the vehicle communicates with various service\u00a0providers).<\/p>\n

Cooperative services: utility and evolution<\/h4>\n

The studies that led to the definition and hoped launch\u00a0of the C-ITS services quantify a benefit\/cost ratio in the\u00a0first few years equal to at least three: the benefits concern efficiency and\u00a0traffic safety, while the costs include those suffered by the\u00a0consumer.<\/p>\n

The interest in their fast activation is therefore evident, even more evident if we look at the current difficulties in bringing down accidents,\u00a0injuries and deaths in traffic.<\/p>\n

Cooperative services can\u00a0significantly enhance\u00a0today\u2019s\u00a0driver assistance systems\u00a0and tomorrow\u2019s autonomous driving, integrating the information\u00a0that the vehicle is able to procure on its own, through\u00a0its sensors and its \u201cintelligence\u201d, with information\u00a0coming directly from other\u00a0vehicles, from the\u00a0local road infrastructure and from other traffic players.<\/p>\n

Cooperative services are based on hybrid communication systems, with\u00a0a traditional long-distance part and a new standardized short\u00a0distance, nor requiring any subscriptions\u00a0or registrations.<\/p>\n

Two equipped vehicles, close to each other,\u00a0must be able to talk to each other whatever their model\/brand\/year of registration and without requiring a particular\u00a0infrastructure. If the infrastructure\u00a0is also equipped, vehicles must be able to talk to it, regardless\u00a0of the location or nature of the road.<\/p>\n

The channels must be capable of\u00a0managing the exchanges in various situations of road traffic, with\u00a0low latency (for some particularly\u00a0critical\u00a0applications) and guarantee of data protection, privacy and\u00a0cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

G5 (as standardized by ETSI and with the\u00a0profiles described in the aforementioned Regulation) and C-VTX, as recently\u00a0proposed, meet the requirements, while other\u00a0communication\u00a0systems\u00a0may intervene in the future.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0communication\u00a0system\u00a0of this kind has the fundamental advantage\u00a0of\u00a0\u201cextending the horizon\u201d of knowledge of the driver,\u00a0of the ADAS systems on board, and of the\u00a0autonomous\u00a0driving systems of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

The drivers, in fact, \u201cknow\u201d the things we\u00a0can see and interpret;\u00a0the on-board sensors\u00a0can \u201csee\u201d the phenomena in their range of action and\u00a0consequently the ADAS and autonomous driving systems can\u00a0only rely on this information.<\/p>\n

With cooperative systems,\u00a0the driver, ADAS and autonomous driving systems will\u00a0be\u00a0able to\u00a0be informed of events that happen outside the\u00a0\u201dvisible\u201d\u00a0horizon\u00a0or cannot be detected by the vehicle. Accident\/stopped vehicles behind the next curve, vehicle in arrival at\u00a0an intersection, poor grip of the road surface at a short\u00a0distance can be taken into account by the car.<\/p>\n

In addition, the driver and\/or ADAS and autonomous driving systems\u00a0will be assisted in their interpretation of the scenario\u00a0by timely and direct information (eg repetition of\u00a0road\u00a0signs, arrivals of ambulances or special vehicles, start of maneuver\u00a0by vehicles in the vicinity and\/or conflict, pedestrians in crossing),\u00a0and also the time horizon will be extended (e.g. semaphores will communicate their next switching).<\/p>\n

The self-driving cars being tested today will be among the\u00a0great beneficiaries of cooperative services.\u00a0They, in the vast\u00a0majority, base their behavior on algorithms that\u00a0work on the vehicle, using – today – only sensors\u00a0installed on the vehicle itself.<\/p>\n

They can be monitored\u00a0and managed by a remote operator but they do not use – at the moment\u00a0– information coming from connections with other vehicles or\u00a0with the local infrastructure (in some national experimentation regulations it is allowed that the\u00a0\u201cdriver\u201d (who takes control in levels 3 and 4) is remote;\u00a0the\u00a0Italian\u00a0regulation\u00a0does not provide for this possibility).<\/p>\n

It is quite natural that today\u2019s research and\u00a0experimentation focus on solving the\u00a0problems of \u201ctotally autonomous\u201d driving.\u00a0On the other hand, however, it is evident the increase of efficiency\u00a0and safety that the autonomous vehicles can obtain from the cooperative services: in the next future we\u2019ll see the convergence of\u00a0two lines of development: connectivity and automation.<\/p>\n

\"Technologies\"
2. (photo credit: https:\/\/miro.medium.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Can we assume that the first C-ITS services will soon be\u00a0operating in Europe within a certain regulatory framework?\u00a0We could be oriented to respond positively, considering\u00a0that the Regulation, in addition to containing truly\u00a0operational\u00a0specifications\u00a0and establishing the rules for their evolution and\u00a0their completion, shows a resolutive and accepted position\u00a0on relevant problems.<\/p>\n

The Regulation indeed considers issues related to Privacy and Cybersecurity. For the former, in full respect of the opinion given by the Data Protection Working Group (Oct. 2017), the regulation specifies methods to grant privacy and minimize the risk of individual tracing.<\/p>\n

Moreover it states that, given\u00a0the non-applicability of the GDPR regulation to the framework of\u00a0C-ITS\u00a0services, until a specific regulation is defined,\u00a0personal data must not be used for commercial purposes or\u00a0even for the enforcement.<\/p>\n

Coming to Cybersecurity, in addition to establishing\u00a0stringent and definitive\u00a0specifications in the Regulations, the Commission declares itself ready to take\u00a0charge of all support activities, until needed.<\/p>\n

Today, however, competition\u00a0between the different (two) technologies for short-range communication\u00a0is taking on greater importance:\u00a0we can only hope that the car equipped with the devices will\u00a0appear on the market and that the first services will be launched.<\/p>\n

In any case, it is reasonable to think that, perhaps with some delay\u00a0and some changes, \u201ca\u201d regulation\u00a0will be approved and the process of realization of the\u00a0C-ITS\u00a0cooperative services\u00a0will be started. We should add that, however, it is\u00a0only a first step: the current Regulation does not establish\u00a0any obligation neither for installation on vehicles nor for implementation\u00a0for the Member States.<\/p>\n

Public and private actors remain free to\u00a0decide whether and when to provide the services or to put\u00a0the components\u00a0on the market\u00a0(remember \u201cen passant\u201d, that Italy has included the\u00a0C-ITS services among the specifications of the DM70 of 2018) but are required\u00a0to follow the specifications if they are made.<\/p>\n

However, as\u00a0the Regulation itself\u00a0states, the best results in terms of accidents,\u00a0congestion and CO2 emissions will only be obtained from a strategy\u00a0based on a mandate (or, we add, on a\u00a0binding\u00a0agreement) – at least for V2V – which guarantees that all new\u00a0vehicles are equipped with C-ITS devices.<\/p>\n

To this end,\u00a0\u201cafter the adoption of specifications,\u00a0a separate dissemination initiative\u00a0will be considered\u00a0which will further analyze\u00a0the efficiency and proportionality of a mandate based on\u00a0the continuous development of the C-ITS sector\u201d.<\/p>\n

We can therefore reasonably foresee that \u201ccooperative\u00a0services\u00a0\u201d will be part of our near future, perhaps\u00a0starting next year: we must however be aware\u00a0of the importance of the work that remains to be done to better\u00a0guide the implementation process, interact with the\u00a0European\u00a0institutions\u00a0and with all Stakeholders, to help guide\u00a0solutions for open problems and to help national achievements:\u00a0an excellent field of activity for all interested parties and\u00a0institutions, including the Observatory at MIT mentioned\u00a0in other articles.<\/p>\n

General purpose connections<\/h4>\n

The \u201ccooperative\u201d connections, as we have seen, are useful\u00a0for all vehicles, including future autonomous vehicles, for\u00a0efficiency and safety\u00a0reasons;\u00a0other requirements will make\u00a0general-purpose vehicle connections to different service providers\u00a0increasingly\u00a0necessary, beyond the current \u201cdriver\u00a0and passenger\u201d connections.<\/p>\n

The need for some connection service is motivated\u00a0by an easily shared reasoning.\u00a0The\u00a0more the more \u201cautonomous\u201d driving, the vehicle will have to be\u00a0managed for various needs: we can mention, for example:<\/p>\n