Testing of 5G automotive applications at MWC 2021

Visitors of the Virtual showroom at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2021 will experience a showcase with virtual test drives for end-to-end testing of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications for traffic optimisation and sensor sharing – all powered by realistic simulation of the vehicle and the environment with smart infrastructure as well as real 5G communication. You can view the demo here.

The combination of 5G and Edge Cloud, which promises high data throughputs and low latencies, has the potential to allow for completely new applications, such as sharing raw sensor data with vehicles and infrastructure. This can enable cooperative perception, swarm intelligence based on shared AI or real-time traffic optimisation to make automated driving even safer, more comfortable and ecofriendly. However, without a suitable 5G test bed infrastructure, the development of associated applications can be challenging.

The exhibit showcase integrates the Anritsu Radio Communication Test Station MT8000A, an all-in-one 5G radio frequency (RF), functional, and protocol test solution, with a dSPACE SCALEXIO real-time system for demanding HIL simulation or rapid prototyping. For a realistic test of a V2X device and application, SCALEXIO is complemented by the simulation of virtual test drives with dSPACE Automotive Simulation Models (ASM) – open Simulink models for simulating the vehicle and environment, such as road, traffic and infrastructure. In addition, a dedicated software interface was developed to connect the Anritsu Test Station and control the 5G mobile data link to the back end during real-time simulation.   

Gregor Hordys, responsible for connectivity at dSPACE, stated: “This solution enables the early development of applications for connected and cooperative automated driving based on 5G and edge computing in the lab, without being dependent on the local infrastructure.It also allows validation of the entire vehicle-to-network processing chain.”

“This joint integration, and the power of such a solution, will provide a significant step forward for the testing and emulation of 5G V2X. This industry-leading demonstration represents a very exciting platform for the development of 5G V2X applications,” added Jonathan Borrill, Head of Global Market Technology at Anritsu.