Newcastle University and partners (The North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA), StreetDrone, Sunderland City Council, Vantec, Coventry University, Connected Places Catapult, and Perform Green) have been working on a 5G-enabled CAL (Connected and Automated Logistics) pilot and proof of concept, as part of the “5G Create” scheme funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The launch of 5G, the new mobile broadband and communication standard, has made the ‘Level 4’ automation available. The key features of 5G, including ultra-high data throughput, ultra-low latency, massive connections, high reliability, high mobility, potentially enable the fail-safe mode of ‘Level 4’ automated vehicle to be achieved via a 5G teleportal system.
Figure 1. 5G enabled Level 4 Automated vehicle
5G enabled Level 4 automated vehicles (5G L4AV) can perform full self-driving for some part of a journey. The passengers in the vehicle are allowed to be completely disengaged from driving, which means hands off the steering wheel, feet off the pedals and eyes off the road. They are allowed to safely perform non-driving related tasks, such as reading a book, using a mobile phone and watching a movie. But there are situations where the Level 4 automated vehicles reach system limitations, such as entering a construction area, or a rural road without lane markings and network connections. In such situations, the 5G Level 4 automated driving system may request the passenger to take over control. However, if passengers do not respond, the system will perform fallback by manoeuvring the vehicle to the road shoulder and parking it. Then, the automation system will ask help from a remote operator/driver who is able to operate the vehicle using wireless enabled by 5G network.
In this survey, we are interested in your attitudes and acceptance of 5G enabled level 4 automated vehicles and how likely it is that your intention to use it in the future.
Complete the survey here or scan the QR code.
