Cisco and Verizon demo millisecond C-V2X connectivity using MEC

Cisco and Verizon have partnered up to demonstrate millisecond C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) connectivity.

The partners used a proof-of-concept demo in Las Vegas to show how cellular and MEC (mobile edge compute) technology can be combined to unlock innovative new solutions for connected vehicles.

“This test is a huge milestone in proving that the future of connectivity for IoT applications can be powered by cellular,” said Krishna Iyer, Director of Systems Architecture at Verizon.

“We’re marking the strength of mobile edge compute platforms for connected transportation innovation with much more streamlined architecture. Together with Cisco technologies, we’re setting the foundation potentially to realise a ubiquitous IoT in the connected and autonomous future of driving.”

In the demo, the technologies were used to enable automated driving solutions without the use of costly physical Roadside Units to extend radio signals.

“The future of autonomous vehicles cannot progress without reliable communication between vehicles and their surrounding environments,” explained Mark Knellinger, Lead Transportation Solutions Architect at Cisco.

“This is huge for roadway operators in that it relieves them of the massive expense of deploying and operating a dedicated V2X environment.”

Transport solutions often require ultra-low latency. The high latency generally associated with cellular networks could lead to death or serious injury.

However, the proof-of-concept shows what’s possible even with LTE networks when combined with a 5G edge.

“The Cisco and Verizon test proved that Verizon’s LTE network and public 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength, together with Cisco Catalyst IR1101 routers in connected infrastructure, can meet the latency thresholds required for autonomous driving applications – replacing the costly roadside radios previously required to meet those needs,” wrote the companies in a release.

“By using LTE and edge compute to virtualize the role of the Roadside Units, C-V2X communications proved to be more streamlined – likely to result in improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness for municipalities, infrastructure providers, and application developers working with autonomous vehicles.”

The demo shows what’s already possible using existing LTE networks, mobile edge compute, and in-vehicle interfaces deployed by OEMs. The rollout of 5G will only increase scalability further.

You can find a whitepaper from Cisco titled ‘Edge Computing Delivers Low Latency Connected Vehicle Applications over 4G LTE’ here (PDF)

(Source: IoT News Cisco and Verizon demo millisecond C-V2X connectivity using MEC (iottechnews.com))