O2 plans rollout of 5G connectivity for world's most advanced urban testbed for self-driving vehicle

London’s Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) aims to put the UK in the lead to test and validate self-driving car technologies.Experts from TRL, DG Cities, Cisco, Loughborough University and O2 provide critical services enabling trials of driverless vehicles and smart transport systems at Royal Borough of Greenwich and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.O2’s involvement supports operator’s commitment to support businesses looking to explore the potential of 5G in the mobility sector.

O2 has signed an agreement to provide 5G connectivity for the testing of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in the world’s most advanced urban testbed, the Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) in London.

O2’s 3.4GHz 5G-ready spectrum will enable car manufacturers, self-driving technology companies, start-ups as well as other private and public organisations involved in the transport ecosystem to test both vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to road communications (V2X) in a real-world environment.

SMLL is a government backed CAV testbed based in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, created with the aim of building safer, more intelligent and better joined-up transport systems. It comprises world leading expertise from across the transport and technology sectors including TRL, Cisco, DG Cities, London Legacy Development Corporation, Cubic Transportation Systems and Loughborough University. O2 has now agreed to collaborate with SMLL to provide 5G connectivity to the testbed.

5G’s role in supporting CAV and intelligent transport systems

Many transport experts believe 5G is the key to unlocking the potential of self-driving vehicles’ potential. There are three stand-out reasons for this – the extra speed of 5G, its ability to connect with many more devices at once, and a far lower latency, meaning data sent between two 5G devices is almost instantaneous.

The high capacity of 5G also allows for vehicles to transmit large amounts of data, including 4K video, to intelligent cloud-based transport systems, which are expected to improve road safety and help traffic authorities to monitor and manage traffic flow.

Brendan O’Reilly, O2’s Chief Technology Officer, said, “At O2 we’re

determined to help businesses of all sizes realise the potential of fifth-generation mobile technology. We know that the transport sector is going to be one of the key beneficiaries of 5G – and that the technology has the potential to reduce traffic congestion, as well as making journeys safer and more enjoyable. That’s why we’re excited to be working with the teams at the Smart Mobility Living Lab, who are driving forward our understanding how this next generation technology will fundamentally change the fabric of the cities in which we live and work as well as creating entirely new methods of travel.”

Paul Campion, CEO of TRL, said: “5G is a technology that supports a successful rollout of self-driving cars in the UK. Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) research shows that over a third of industry leaders from the transport, technology and automotive industries think investment in strengthening the UK’s digital infrastructure is a key step for making self-driving cars commercially available in the UK. By working with industry leader O2, we are ensuring that SMLL is not just a real-world testing environment for self-driving cars today; we are future-proofing the testbed so that we can accelerate our customers’ research and development programmes.”

Trevor Dorling, Managing Director of DG Cities, said: “Connected and autonomous vehicles are an emerging technology with the potential to address some of the key challenges cities face. The ‘connected’, in connected and autonomous vehicles is critically important as it enables advanced safety features such as vulnerable road user alerts or dangerous intersection warnings to work, making city streets safer. 5G underpins these use cases and offers further benefits to people and businesses. This latest collaboration with O2 and SMLL will enable us to better understand the potential applications of this new technology.

O2 continues to power UK’s self-driving trials

O2’s Smart Cities report highlighted a number of compelling ways in which 5G can help the UK economy. This included how a 5G-enabled road management system, able to respond to traffic pressures at unprecedented speeds, will reduce the time motorists spend stuck in traffic by 10%, save the economy £880 million a year, and reduce CO2 emissions by 370,000 metric tonnes per year.

In July, O2 announced its ‘Smart Ambulance’ trial to revolutionise patient treatment and reduce hospital numbers. The trial, which began this month, involves equipping a standard ambulance with state-of-the-art devices and connectivity, transforming the vehicle into a unique remote consultation room. In June, O2 also announced that it is preparing to test satellite safety systems for 5G driverless cars in Oxfordshire in partnership with the European and British space agencies. This follows the news earlier this year that O2 will use its 5G network to power autonomous vehicle testing at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire.

SMLL uses public and private roads in London. In doing so it has created the most advanced urban testing environment for autonomous transport systems and the opportunities presented by the latest 5G technologies from O2.

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Nokia joins Sendai City in world’s first test of wireless connected drones for tsunami evacuation

Nokia and Sendai City demonstrate the effectiveness of drones for disaster prevention and mitigation, using a private LTE mobile broadband networkTest conducted in Sendai coastal areas, which were devastated by the tsunami

12 November 2019

Sendai City and Nokia successfully conducted a test flight of a Nokia drone on a private LTE network provided by Nokia Digital Automation Cloud. They tested the potential use of drones during a tsunami or other disasters to help in prevention and mitigation efforts. The test verified that using a private LTE network to control and communicate with the drones is an effective means for enhancing situational awareness and communicating with the affected population during a disaster. This is the first time in the world this type of trial has been conducted.

Sendai City is the center of Tohoku Region, Japan, and lies northeast of Tokyo on Honshu Island, with a population of over 1 million. The coastal areas were devastated by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and have come to be recognized internationally through the United Nations as a symbol of disaster risk reduction and reconstruction.

In the verification test, it was assumed that a major tsunami warning would be issued in the coastal area near the Minami-Gamo Water Treatment Ceter in Miyagino Ward, Sendai City.

Nokia deployed a private LTE network near the Minami-Gamo Water Treatment Center using its plug-and-play digital automation cloud technology. Using speakers, HD cameras and thermal cameras mounted on Nokia drones, the testers delivered recorded and real-time voice messages and conducted aerial monitoring using HD and thermal camera video streaming from the drones.

During the simulated disaster, the testers were able to issue a major tsunami warning to evacuees in coastal areas through the drone speaker, and monitor the tsunami arrival zone and coastal areas through drone camera images. They also guided people to evacuation sites using the drone to convey directions, and monitored the movements of evacuees using the drone camera. The test also highlighted how first responders can facilitate disaster prevention and mitigation without risk to the personnel managing the evacuation activities.

Nokia Drone Networks is a turnkey solution consisting of one or several drones equipped with gimbals with HD and thermal cameras, a private LTE wireless network, a drone flight command and control center, and video analysis applications. Private LTE/4G provides seamless and secure connectivity, making it more suitable for mission-critical use cases than the mostly Wi-Fi-based technology used in public mobile networks. The high-performance, low-latency connection provides optimized coverage for the drones, ensuring sufficient capacity for video streaming across wide areas and enabling secure information processing. Drones can also be flown over populated areas with limited risk and with better control in difficult weather conditions.

n 2017, Nokia and Sendai City concluded a strategic partnership agreement for improving the safety and security of citizens and supporting local industries through the use of Nokia ICT technology. A drone demonstration will be held November 9–12 in conjunction with the ‘World Disaster Prevention Forum/Davos Meeting @ Sendai 2019’ to be held in Sendai City. Going forward, the partnership will continue to promote the use of Nokia technologies to help improve the safety and security of citizens, revitalize local industries, and promote the technological development of local companies.

Sendai Mayor Kazuko Kohri, said: "The use of these drones seems to be very effective in ensuring the safety and security of Sendai and its surrounding areas. The demonstration by Nokia showed that we should be able to respond faster and provide better information to the people in the most affected areas during a potential disaster. We are very hopeful that Nokia Drone Networks will help us to reduce risk for our citizens."

John Harrington, Head of Nokia Japan, said: “We are very pleased that we have successfully completed this drone flight demonstration with Sendai City, highlighting the effectiveness of using drones and private LTE for disaster prevention and mitigation. Nokia Drone Networks has been adopted by the Red Cross in the Philippines as a social infrastructure for disaster relief operations. Based on this demonstration, we hope to contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation for Sendai City and other local governments in Japan.”

Resources

Nokia Drone Networks websiteNokia Digital Automation Cloud websiteNokia Drone Network video: Keeping people & property safe with Nokia drone networks

About Sendai City

Sendai City is the center of Tohoku Region, Japan, with a population of over 1 million. The coastal areas were devastated by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and have come to be recognized internationally through the United Nations as a symbol of disaster risk reduction and reconstruction. In addition, it has been designated as a National Strategic Special Zone by the Japanese government, and attention is focused on the use of the latest ICT technology by local businesses and communities.

Source: Nokia

Ericsson report: AI-powered operations key to improving customer experience

Communications service providers around the world recognize the need for immediate action on artificial intelligence (AI) and automaton in their operations to boost cost-efficient customer experiences as the 5G-driven Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 gathers pace.

That’s just one finding in a new Ericsson report – Supercharging customer experience through AI and automation – that shows AI and Automation in operations has moved from concept to operational reality in the boardrooms of communication service providers worldwide.

The report outlines how operations executives are using AI and automation to drive business outcomes and capture opportunities but also how they address challenges such as improving net promotor score (NPS) – a clear indicator of a good consumer experience – and cost efficiency.

Key findings include:

90 percent state that AI is important in boosting customer experience8 in 10 service providers expect an increase in cost and added complexity as a result of adding new technology92 percent of service providers have refined the use of network insights to drive performance during the last year9 out of 10 place customer experience and growing revenues high of the agenda7 in 10 service providers think technological transformation is a key challenge

Ericsson’s research shows that most communication service providers are already working on AI and automation initiatives. However they say that technology alone is not enough – new skills and ways of working are required for service providers to become more digital. These organizational changes are at least as important as the technological aspects in a successful transformation to become more digital.

Peter Laurin, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Managed Services, Ericsson, says: “The introduction of 5G and IoT, the explosion of connected devices and the battle to stay relevant have a profound impact on the ways in which networks and IT need to be operated. As 5G is introduced around the globe, service providers are faced with the challenge of having to manage more coexisting technologies and use cases, new service requirements, virtualization and network slicing. With this in mind, the complexity of managing next-generation networks will surely grow. The Ericsson Operations Engine, our AI-driven platform for managing the networks of the future, enables service providers to leapfrog this transformation”.

The report shows that operations areas at communications service providers have always viewed themselves as heavily involved in the cost efficiency agenda. However, they now emphasize an increased customer experience focus in operations and are aware of the role they play in realizing this strategic priority of the wider business.

Ericsson continues to switch on 5G for communication service providers around the world, opening the door to new opportunities in IoT, Industry 4.0 and digitalization. The Ericsson Operations Engine creates sustainable differentiation as it evolves operations from being network-centric to user-experience-centric.  It fundamentally changes operating networks from reactive to proactive, leveraging data, automation and artificial intelligence.

Download the full report (gated content)

Source: Ericsson