Verizon Business opens availability for V2X connected-driving platform

Verizon Business has announced the commercial launch of its Edge Transportation Exchange mobile-network vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication platform.

Edge Transportation Exchange uses Verizon’s 5G and LTE networks, mobile edge computing (MEC) and geolocation technology to send alerts, messages and data between connected vehicles and pedestrians and connected roadway infrastructure, such as traffic signals, in near real time.

The platform is designed to act as an ecosystem enabler, offering automakers, technology developers and governments a foundation for the development of intelligent transportation use cases. The latter include vulnerable road user awareness, roadway and weather condition alerts, and intersection traffic-signal information to help improve traffic efficiency and enable safer road use.

Edge Transportation Exchange uses a virtual architecture that reduces the need for costly physical roadside units, alleviating financial burdens for departments of transport and municipal governments.

In addition, it can serve as an API-driven platform for collaborative information access between automakers, technology developers and municipal governments, which can use the mobile-network V2X technology to scale existing connected solutions or innovate technology for road-user safety and satisfaction. Development and collaboration are centralised through the Verizon ThingSpace internet of things (IoT) platform.

Following a successful joint demonstration by the US Department of Transportation and the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), a number of customers have already signed on for the platform. These include Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), Rutgers University Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) and Volkswagen Group of America (VW).

The 5GAA joint demonstration included use cases such as informing drivers about vulnerable road users, dangerous weather and roadway conditions, and traffic signal phase and timing at intersections.

ACA was first to sign on as a platform partner for Edge Transportation Exchange, advancing from trial use to production. The economic development organisation works collaboratively with the University of Arizona, the Arizona Department of Transportation, the Maricopa County Department of Transportation, and state and local agencies to develop new use cases and use existing ones – including pedestrian detection and upcoming work zone notifications – to make Arizona roadway users safer and better connected.

DelDOT is conducting technical testing across multiple communication technologies and architectures to optimise V2X message delivery. Primary use cases being studied include red-light warnings, water-on-road warnings, and vulnerable road user (VRU) alerts to drivers. VW will explore examples such as pedestrian awareness and payment applications for expedited tolling.

Rutgers University CAIT is using the platform at the DataCity Smart Mobility Testing Ground, a collaborative program with Middlesex County and in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The 2.5-mile living laboratory is equipped with self-driving-grade sensing, computing and V2X communication technologies to facilitate the testing of connected and automated vehicle (CAV) and smart city technologies.

It is also looking to develop virtualised cellular messaging architectures for cost-effective support of multiple CAV applications, including intersection safety, congestion mitigation, queue warning, and incident and work zone management.

Commenting on the commercial launch, Shamik Basu, vice-president of strategic connectivity and IoT at Verizon Business, said: “Cars are evolving from mechanical vehicles to software-defined mobile devices with the ability to leverage incredible connected technology.

“Edge Transportation Exchange leverages that technology to give automakers, governments, and tech developers a robust platform for building out the cellular-connected future of transportation – with visibility and reliability for all road users top of mind.”