National Instruments announced a collaboration with Shanghai University in China to develop a testbed focused on 5G ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) for V2X applications.

Implementing autonomous driving applications requires a vehicle network that guarantees both ultra-low latency and high reliability. Given these conflicting technical requirements and the unpredictable nature of mobile wireless channels, a "real-time experimental testbed" for prototyping ideas is crucial for research success. The testbed developed through this collaboration will be built on NI's flexible Software Defined Radio (SDR) hardware and 5G New Radio (NR) URLLC reference design.

“Shanghai University and the city of Shanghai have been leading the way in advancing automotive technologies, particularly autonomous vehicles and V2X communications,” said Shugong Xu, IEEE Fellow, professor at Shanghai University and director of the Shanghai Institute for Advanced Communication and Data Science. “We are excited to leverage NI’s expertise in prototyping 5G wireless systems and to work with NI to expand the scope of V2X communications.”

James Kimery, director of wireless research and SDR marketing at NI, said researchers in industry and academia are leveraging NI's flexible SDR platform to advance 5G communications research and test. "Through our collaboration with Shanghai University, NI will focus on developing low-latency applications like V2X that are critical to the 5G ecosystem," Kimery said.