“Intelligent Transportation Systems – Towards Connected and Autonomous Cars”

“Intelligent Transportation Systems – Towards Connected and Autonomous Cars”

The goal of this report is:


Analyze current trends in the ITS development
Address the progress in ITS standardization
Estimate the ITS market
Present the current status of the Connected Car (CC) development
Analyze the CC technologies and marketing specifics; identify major industry players and their portfolios
Analyze two leading CC communications technologies - 5.9 GHz DSRC and C-V2X
Present the current status of driverless cars technologies and markets
Analyze the driverless car major industry players
Analyze driverless car standardization activities
Analyze the 3GPP related activity
Analyze the role of 5G technologies in creation the “ultimate” ITS.

-This report addresses the current status of the ITS, their structure, major applications, standardization and markets. The ITS aim is to improve the economy by reducing the number of road accidents (making driving safer), the amount of car air pollutions and making smooth flow of the traffic.

The advances in the ITS are presently tied with the development of a “Connected Car” (CC) – a moving car that is wirelessly connected with surrounding cars and the infrastructure (as well as supporting connectivity inside of a car). Such a car opens a spectrum of new and exciting opportunities for automakers, service providers and users.

CC programs are now under development all around the globe. Though there are many technological choices to support CC communications, two technologies are leading:


5.9 GHz DSRC, and
C-V2X.

The report concentrates on those leaders; and analyzes their characteristics, parameters, marketing statistics, industries and the spectrum of applications. It also compares these technologies and their applicability to CC communications.

5.9 GHz DSRC technology is being tested and trialed in the U.S. for the last 25 years; and a rich collection of communications channels statistics has been gathered. This technology was considered for standardization of CC communications by the U.S. DOT. It has many attractions, such as the economies of scale based on the IEEE 802.11p standard, network simplicity and other. It also standardized and accepted in Europe.

Note that the 2020 FCC rulemaking regarding the 5.9 GHz spectrum sharing established a solid ground for C-V2X technologies to lead CC communications.

Utilization LTE-A and its modifications for C-V2X communications attracts users by longer reaches, higher speeds, possibility of low latency (1-3 ms), and utilization of the cellular infrastructure in which CC communications will be only one of many use cases. The standard was finalized in Release 14 of the 3GPP; and the technology is lately under extensive testing, trialing and initial commercialization. Two methods are being developed: a) D2D communications, and b) Broadcast communications. They are discussed in the report.

The report details specifics of 5.9 GHz DSRC and LTE-A for CC communications, their marketing aspects, and the related legislative work. It also concentrates on benefits and limitations of each technology and surveys related industries.

The industry concentrated attention on the design and production of electronics that can support both technologies in one package – this is the current trend in CC communications chipsets manufacturing.

-This particular report also addresses the ITS progress in reaching its ultimate goal - to make a car “intelligent” enough to safely drive without a human participation. It also updates the status of a driverless car development in connection with transition to the 5G era: the industry identified driverless cars as most viable form of ITS, dominating the roadways by 2040 and sparking dramatic changes in vehicular travel. The report discusses the specifics of the 5G era as they are seen by the industry at the present time with emphasis on what 5G technologies can bring to the driverless car.

-Such a car was considered by many as a scientists’ dream only 10-15 years ago; now it is a reality and all predictions are that driverless cars will hit the roads in 6-8 years. A fully developed driverless car can function only in the 5G (or later generations) environments.

The report provides overview of the current status of the driverless car development, pictures the future steps, which the industry is planning, analyzes roadblocks, and emphasizes the importance of standardization – several organizations are working in this direction. The analysis concentrates on technological and marketing aspects of driverless cars and also on the status of the industry.

The survey of driverless cars projects currently underway is conducted. Initial marketing statistics are developed.

The report is intended for a wide audience of technical and managerial staff involved in the ITS development; and, particular, for specialists working on CC and driverless cars programs.