Imagine your car becoming smarter and connected – in the sense that your vehicle is capable of self-driving and making hyper-effective decisions, communication effortlessly from data stations.
5G will elevate the meaning of connected cars – cars that are connected to a richer source of real-time data, streamlined in efficiency and effectiveness. It’s important to keep in mind that autonomous cars are not the same as connected cars; autonomous cars concern with the art of self-driving and connected cars focus on communicating with other systems inside and outside the vehicle.
5G technology is an enabler of bold new ideas and astronomical change. Its era has arrived and how does it affect the connectivity in automobiles – and your personal driving experience?
5G (fifth generation) and digital space
5G (fifth-generation) is simply the new generation mobile network. It is a new innovation that will surpass preceding mobile networks such as 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G. Unlike its predecessors, 5G will be utilised for the large growth of data, and the Internet of Things (IoT), which encompasses a tremendous network of interconnected devices – from wearables, embedded sensors to smartphones.
5G technology contains an ocean of creative possibilities, which will transform the future of connectivity and wireless communications. According to Enterprise Talk, the digital space will be truly impacted by the use of 5G technology. Firstly, users will experience electrifying speeds; 5G speed is almost 100 times faster than 4G.
Secondly, 5G has lower latency which means it takes a shorter time to go from its source to the receiver, and then back again. This will enable new upgrades in fields such as VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) in a way that seamless and undisrupted experiences are more likely to occur.
Moreover, 5G can enhance business efficiencies through increased capability; the technology sets up new and special opportunities for Internet of Things applications. Imagine hundreds of thousands of devices communicating effortlessly in different environments such as homes, cities, factories, farms, and schools. Ultimately, the user experience will be magically adjusted.
Connected cars and mobile networks
As of today, many automobiles and fellow drivers have used various technologies enabled by different mobile networks. Due to the increased usage of smartphones in the last 10 years, 3G-enabled mobile applications such as music streaming and GPS navigation have been heavily cherished by drivers.
4G has swept the markets, introducing unique ways of using data including satellite navigation with real-time map updates on smart devices. Remarkably, the incredible potential of the automobile and wireless communication integration could enable more insurance companies to closely monitor your driving style which can drastically reduce insurance premiums.
The driving experience is continuously transformed through each evolution of mobile networks. Technological giant firm Huawei argued that: “in 2017, every car has the potential to be a ‘connected car’ as infotainment services and software updates are provided via the internet”. Fast forward three years, we have witnessed an enormous change in the landscape of automobile-technological integration.
Safety and ease reach new heights
To make the most of driving pleasure and comfort, safety has to come first. Engineers and automotive creators battled many challenges of balancing safety and comfort on the road. With the advent of 5G, their lives will be astronomically easier.
SEAT, for instance, has undertaken a project to examine safe driving practices and innovations using the latest mobile network. They have explored the use of cameras, sensors, and beacons to detect obstacles on the road; the information of the road networks, pedestrians, cyclists etc. is readily detected and supplied to the 5G connected car from a smart city (a smart city is an urban area that uses a variety of Internet of Things sensors to collect and organize data for service use).
The driver then can make better decisions, manoeuvring around obstacles effortlessly. Cars equipped with 5G technology can always receive real-time traffic information which renders the urban motoring experience incredibly smooth.
A data-informed driving experience
Experts of the auto industry have argued that 5G is essential for realizing autonomous driving. According to Dr Joy Laskar, CTO of Maja Systems (a fabless semiconductor company), future autonomous vehicles will generate nearly two million worth of gigabyte data and 5G; and with its epic internet speeds and higher bandwidth, it will be capable of managing this data size.
In addition, leading technological manufacturers Intel and Qualcomm are working towards a revolutionary implementation where autonomous vehicles are turned into mobile data centres, enabling self-driving cars to make real-time decisions.
Experts claim that the automobile industry will explode at the arrival of 5G since it will revolutionize the ideas of V2I (Vehicle-to-infrastructure), V2N (Vehicle-to-network), V2V (Vehicle-to-vehicle), and V2P (Vehicle-to-pedestrian) innovation.
Visions for an interconnected future
On the side of luxury driving, BMW has announced that their all-electric SUV iNext will be the first luxury vehicle to connect to 5G technology in 2021. The car is designed to have a supreme level of autonomous driving functions and next-generation infotainment e.g. streaming video games.
Interestingly, taxi and chauffeur services might be transformed by 5G technology too. In 2019, Volocopter, a German start-up, explored the use of 5G in its brand-new concept drone-air taxi to enhance safety by seeing around ‘corners’, avoiding obstacles, and training its flight performance by downloading and processing data.
Experiencing an ultra-sophisticated level of chauffership is made all possible; the road becomes the air, literally ascending you to new frontiers of travel and logistical operations as the drone traverses you across landmarks in incredible versatile ways.
Finishing on a high note
Undoubtedly, 5G will cause a tsunami of change in the travel sector. Drivers including chauffeurs and digital service users will see that their ordinary experiences are no longer ordinary; they become extraordinary. With the mobile network’s unprecedented capabilities, your journeys will become as electrifying and breathtaking as its degree of speed.
