WAVE and Cellular Communications Will Operate as Hybrids When Commercialized

If there is a technology that best fits the phrase, “dreams become reality,” it would be the self-driving car. When you call a car, it comes to you on its own, and it drives to its destination on its own. Self-driving cars recognize and avoid obstacles while driving, and provide various conveniences and information to the owner. Although it will take some time for fully self-driving cars to be commercialized, the so-called “semi-self-driving car” technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Now, it is easy to see advertisements for cars with self-driving functions, and they have become a deep part of our lives. This magazine will serialize the self-driving car project over the next 11 episodes. Starting with the self-driving car industry trend, it will cover semiconductor components such as radar, lidar, and camera sensors, communications, precision maps, SW platforms, artificial intelligence, security, and K-City services. We ask for your continued support. <Editor’s Note>


No matter how advanced the sensor functions are, autonomous vehicles need information about the surrounding environment to be fully autonomous and respond to unexpected situations. When going over hills or crossing a foggy bridge, sensors and cameras have limitations. This is why vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication as well as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication are necessary.

Vehicle communications usually use DSRC, WAVE (802.11p), and WLAN (802.11a). DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) is a two-way communication method that exchanges various services and information between roadside base stations and vehicle terminals, and is the most suitable communication method for ITS (Intelligent Transport System).

WAVE (Wireless Access in Vehicular Environment), also known as vehicular wireless communication (IEEE 802.11p), is a medium- to short-range wireless data communication that supports public safety and private communication through roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This high-speed vehicular wireless communication technology supports V2V, V2I (vehicle to infrastructure) in high-speed driving situations, and is a vehicle network technology that can be utilized to build various next-generation intelligent transportation systems, such as emergency transmission of risk information on the road ahead and vehicles, safety services that prevent subsequent rear-end collisions, and multi-lane no-stop tolling services.

In February of this year, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) mandated vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for new vehicles. It is expected that all new vehicles in the US will be equipped with V2V technology by 2022. Hyundai Motor Company announced that it plans to launch three models equipped with WAVE terminals by the end of 2019, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is operating a test bed for the Daejeon-Sejong C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems) project following the Seoul-Sejong Smart Highway Project.

Telecommunication companies actively promoting 5G-based V2X
Telecommunication companies have been actively promoting 5G-based V2X. Last month (April), 5GAA, a 5G-based automotive technology research group, joined 3GPP, an international mobile communications standards organization, as a 'Market Lead Partner (MRP),' which is expected to accelerate the development and standardization of 5G-based V2X.

An SK Telecom official who attended a seminar on autonomous vehicles emphasized that 5G is a communication technology suitable for autonomous driving, saying, “Except for areas such as real-time media services and healthcare, autonomous driving is a field that requires high security and fast data transmission and reception, which are the strengths of 5G.” In order to move toward fully autonomous vehicles, chips equipped with sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are needed, and 5G, which has low latency of less than 1ms and fast speed of 20 Gbps, is suitable for this. In addition, the official announced that a quantum-based random number (QRNG) chip has been developed to address communication security, and it has reached the final testing stage this year.

There are differing opinions on whether it is Cellular V2X (C-V2X) or WAVE communication, but as of now, the only communication technology that enables real-time V2V is WAVE. The industry's outlook is that when 5G-V2X, as well as C-V2X, is commercialized, it will move to a hybrid form with WAVE communication.


■Interview
Lim Ki-taek, Director / Mobility Platform Research Center, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute

“For fully autonomous driving, WAVE and mobile communications are complementary to each other”

WAVE base station installation to be completed in 2021, terminal size to be reduced
Related organizations such as the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) are working hard to develop vehicle communication technology. We met with Lim Ki-taek, the director of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (KETI), who developed domestic WAVE communication technology and communication modules such as terminals and service software.


Q. I heard that the WAVE communication technology developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute was introduced to the Sejong-Daejeon C-ITS project.
A. We developed a terminal to be installed in a vehicle, a road base station, and a service application using a communication chip and semiconductors. Since this is a project with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, we were able to conduct tests on actual roads rather than just in the laboratory. When WAVE is introduced, it will inform you of the situation behind, to the side, and in front of the vehicle at least 500 meters to 1 kilometer away. This can be developed into a form of pop-up display on a navigation terminal, notification by sound, or notification on a wearable device.

Q. What has been added to the previous Yeoju-Gyeongbu Smart Highway project and Sejong-Daejeon C-ITS project?
A.   If the smart highway focused on WAVE communication, C-ITS is a form that combines WAVE and mobile cellular communication. The cameras, radars, lidars, and sensors of autonomous vehicles on the market are expensive and difficult to distribute. In order to realize connected cars by using these devices in a distributed manner, a communication network is being built on the road. During the test process, it is continuously developing by reflecting the different communication characteristics of each road.

Q. There are many opinions about the cost of installing WAVE base stations, as one must be installed per 1km.
A. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to install WAVE base stations on 5,000 km of highways nationwide by 2021. If they are installed densely in tunnels and curved sections, it is expected that about 5,500 will be installed. However, there are places where optical communications are already laid underground, and there are places where there are iron bars and other stands, so there are places where only base stations need to be installed. When WAVE is commercialized, communication use will be free as long as you have a terminal.
Q. Cellular mobile communication already has base stations, so there is no need to build new ones.
A. Mobile communications are still in the standardization stage. If the telecommunications company operates 5G as a vehicle channel, it will charge a monthly fee of about 8,000 won considering profits. When commercialization is achieved and cellular and WAVE enter the hybrid stage, if only safety services are needed, WAVE can be used, and if additional entertainment services are desired, they can be used by subscribing to a telecommunications company.

Q. If the WAVE base station installation is completed in 2021, will security and safety technology be secured for WAVE communications as well?
A. In terms of safety alone, we have secured a 95% communication success rate. In order to become a fully autonomous vehicle, we need to support over 99%. We are researching communication to eliminate unavoidable disconnection and support constant connection. We are thoroughly preparing security ourselves and are also conducting activities in cooperation with telecommunications companies.

LTE-V2X standardization is in the final stages, so it will take about 2-3 years to be applied after testing. 5G standardization will be done around 2020. First, we plan to commercialize WAVE and then proceed with scalability so that it can be used in a hybrid form with LTE or 5G in the future. For complete autonomous driving, WAVE and mobile communications are not substitutes but complements.

Q. I heard that in the C-ITS business, some people give up halfway through because of the size of the terminal. When will the terminal be commercialized?
A. The current terminal size is about 1.5 times that of a mobile phone. The terminal itself is not visible because it is installed in the trunk, but it seems to be due to the wire. In 2~3 years, the terminal size will be about half the size of a palm like Hi-pass, and it will be installed in the vehicle and will not be visible. It seems that the terminal support business and policy will be in full swing around the time when the installation of base stations nationwide is completed.


Q. How big is the technological gap between Korea and foreign countries?
A. The US and Europe have been conducting many projects since the early 2000s, regardless of technology. The pilot project in Michigan, US, was conducted in 2012, and the Daejeon-Sejong C-ITS began in 2014, so they are behind in terms of years. However, in terms of current technology, they are almost at the same level. When I saw the demonstration at the ITS World Congress held in Australia last year, I found that the technology introduced in Daejeon C-ITS was inferior to it.

Q. What about communication chips?
A. Mass production of communication chips requires about 1 billion won, so we couldn't make chips ourselves, so we developed FPGAs and unofficially tested modems. The results were the same. There are limits to developing chips in R&D projects or small and medium-sized companies. I wish large companies would do it, but the current level is disappointing.
Q. There is a lot of talk that autonomous driving will be commercialized around 2020.
A. Partially autonomous vehicles will be commercialized by 2020 or 2021. Rather than a form where autonomous and non-autonomous driving coexist on general highways, it is expected to be partially distributed first in exclusive lanes, closed roads with few cars, and large factories. The appropriate time is being studied through pilot projects. It is expected that related policies will be released one by one around 2019. Distribution policies are the most important for commercialization. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V) can be effective only when all vehicles are equipped with terminals. Subsidies or institutional support are necessary, such as giving a 5% discount on insurance premiums when installing a black box.

Q. When do you think fully autonomous vehicles will be completed?
A. There are many things that need to be in place before it can be put on the market, such as laws, ethics, and insurance. In the event of an accident, will the car decide whether to protect the driver or the pedestrian? How much can you rely on the car's ability to respond? Because it cannot 100% cover all kinds of unexpected situations.