Smart mobility test bed to accelerate V2X communications

NXP joined forces with NTU students and professors to develop and test smart mobility solutions in high-pressure real-life scenarios with a focus on secure V2X communications. V2X are intelligent systems integrated into vehicles, which are capable of wirelessly collecting and analysing data from other vehicles and surrounding smart infrastructure over a distance of up to 2km. Secure V2X will be critical to enable widespread adoption of fully autonomous driving and to improve road safety and traffic flow by giving drivers advanced warning of upcoming hazards such as dangerous road conditions, unexpected traffic jams, approaching emergency vehicles or road works long before they enter their field of vision or become detectable by other ADAS sensors. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, secure V2X safety functions can reduce multi-vehicle accident figures by more than 80%. V2X-capable vehicles will also be capable of receiving information from intelligent road signs and automatically recognising the operating cycle of traffic lights.

NTU has the largest university campus in Singapore, with an extensive internal transport network of cars, buses, bicycles and even EV prototypes servicing its 35,000 students and faculty members. The new S$22m smart mobility test bed will leverage this network, using 100 V2X enabled vehicles and 50 roadside units to explore a range of smart communications use cases in a four-year trial. The NTU-NXP initiative will focus on various core areas critical to the advancement and real-world adoption of secure V2X. These include the enhancement of V2X communications for maximum reliability as well as the security of systems against potential cyber threats, which is essential for ensuring safety of passengers and protecting drivers’ personal data.

NXP and NTU are inviting other high-tech companies, institutes and government agencies to join forces with them and build a smart mobility consortium aimed at researching and testing secure, smart connectivity and mobility solutions that can improve the traffic flow in inner cities, avoid road accidents and enhance the mobility experience. Plans involve installing further technologies on the campus to simulate the future smart city.

“More roads, tunnels or overpasses will not solve the traffic challenges in global megacities in the long run. What we need is more intelligent transport systems. Wireless communication technologies like secure V2X will bring significant benefits to society, saving lives by avoiding road accidents as well as limiting congestion, travel time and CO2 emissions,” said Drue Freeman, Senior Vice President, Global Automotive Sales and Marketing, NXP. “With this joint initiative with NTU and other leading industry partners we are embracing an opportunity to make the secure, smart connected city a reality sooner and bring Singapore to the forefront of smart mobility innovation.”

Lam Khin Yong, Chief of Staff Prof. NTU, commented: “Over the past year, we have started to transform NTU into a living lab, starting with our EcoCampus initiative, which saw the deployment of Singapore’s largest solar power plant, the test bedding of various EVs, and the installation of smart building technologies. This partnership with NXP is another big step forward in the transformation of the NTU campus, as the university continues to develop next-gen technologies that will contribute to Singapore’s smart mobility eco-system and network.”

Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board, said: “EDB is happy to partner NTU and NXP to build up this test-bed. Through this effort, NTU, NXP and other industry partners will also enhance key capabilities for Singapore, such as wireless communications design, data analytics and network security.”