Sweden claims world’s first 6G, edge-connected vehicle test facility

Road safety testing facility AstaZero has launched a system claimed to enable communication reliability between vehicles to reach 99.999%, hastening a new era in vehicle connectivity.

Owned by Research Institutes of Sweden (Rise), AstaZero provides end-to-end vehicle and infrastructure testing, offering the world’s first full-scale independent test environment for the automated transport system of the future and associated mobility connectivity. This includes component reliability tests in electromagnetic chambers to repeatable functionality tests at the proving ground, where the full system can be tested.

Explaining its programme of work ahead, the company noted that virtually every new car, truck and bus sold today is equipped with a host of sensors needed to support drivers in actions such as emergency braking and lane keeping, with technology allowing drivers to receive information about, for example, road conditions or traffic.

AstaZero states that the primary reason for testing new vehicles and traffic technology is to increase safety and reliability, adding that as vehicle manufacturers innovate to reduce accidents, the need to test new technology to its absolute limits is key if they are to become commercially viable.

It stressed that a safer vehicle and pedestrian ecosystem will be a significant outcome of the technology tested at AstaZero. Reacting to studies showing that accidents across European cities are on the rise – particularly involving commercial vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists – the test facility will directly address this by improving the communications while looking to decrease the latency between vehicles and the infrastructure ecosystem that underpins it.

Going forward, AstaZero expects that as international 3G networks are decommissioned, advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-powered comms systems will face the world’s most demanding tests to be their replacement in the global race for connected vehicle supremacy. Specifically, it believes the next generation of critical communication (V2X) scenarios will unlock the full potential of this ecosystem and allow vehicles – both AI-enabled and non-AI-enabled – to interact in Edge networks.

Yet AstaZero warns that these systems will need to reach a reliability of 99.999%, which requires not only tests on the individual sensor level, but also on integrated and collaborative systems, a task which has been impossible until now. This suggests a step forward in the journey towards autonomous vehicles, industrial automation and connected societies, as it allows virtual objects and situations to be tested in scenarios limited solely by the engineer’s imagination and vehicle technology.

In a future where highly automated traffic systems not only enhance safety, but also enable vehicles and infrastructure to communicate seamlessly, AstaZero is confident its intelligent test network will help to optimise traffic flows, reduce congestion, minimise emissions and transform urban mobility into a smoother, more efficient experience.

In live tests of complex traffic scenarios, the system uses orchestration tools to manage and communicate critical data including exact positioning and control signalling to and between different objects during tests, including self-driving vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, motorbikes and physical infrastructure, including traffic signals. It also sees the increased adoption of drone technology, particularly in urban settings, and will also benefit from the ability and reliability to test a multitude of scenarios hitherto impossible.

“In the future, communication might not always originate from the sensors on the vehicle itself, but instead from sensors mounted on connected infrastructure or from the sensors of another vehicle,” said Peter Janevik, CEO of Rise AstaZero.

“In these types of systems, three key factors are crucial: reliability, ultra-fast communication and intelligent decision-making,” he added. “However, the bitter truth is that without a global, harmonious and integrated testing approach, there is no guarantee that vehicles and infrastructure will have the capabilities to enable the highest level of safety with complete confidence within this connected ecosystem.”