Australian-first V2P trial in Adelaide

Vehicle-to-pedestrian safety technology has been trialled for the first time in Australia over a 4G network.

Telstra and Cohda Wireless have conducted the first Australian test of vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) technology over a mobile network in Adelaide, demonstrating that vehicles can interact directly with pedestrians’ and cyclists’ mobile phones to improve safety on the road network.

The technology provides an early-collision warning to the driver and also alerts the pedestrian or cyclist via an application on their mobile phone.

The technology was tested using common scenarios, such as a car and a cyclist approaching a blind corner, a car reversing out of a driveway, and a car approaching a pedestrian crossing.

The tests have shown that safety between vehicles and vulnerable road users can be improved simply by broadcasting safety signals from smartphone technology through the cellular network.

Telstra’s vehicle-to-everything (V2X) project, which includes vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) in addition to V2P, seeks to make Australian roads safer, more efficient and better prepared for the future of autonomous vehicles.

“This is the first time V2P technology has been trialled in Australia on a 4G network and is an important step on the journey to fully autonomous vehicles on Australian roads,” said Telstra Chief Technology Officer Håkan Eriksson.

“This follows our successful trials of V2I in October 2016 and V2V in February 2017, also completed in partnership with Cohda.”

Since it was founded in Adelaide in 2004, Cohda Wireless has become one of South Australia’s most impressive success stories, creating products now used in more than 60% of connected-car field trials worldwide and launched in publicly available vehicles in the United States earlier this year.

“What Cohda and Telstra have achieved highlights the impact V2X technology can have on our community,” said Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray. “Giving vehicles 360° situational awareness and sharing real-time driving information is the only way we can create safer roads for the future.

“Cohda’s ongoing partnership with Telstra also demonstrates Cohda’s ability to deliver Cellular V2X (C-V2X) solutions, an important part of the complete V2X system.”

The trial was funded in part by the South Australia government’s $10m Future Mobility Lab Fund to boost local testing, research and development of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.

The Future Mobility Lab Fund was announced in November 2016. So far, $5.6m in funding has been issued, including $500,000 from the state government towards this $3m, Telstra-led project.

The state government, Telstra and Cohda Wireless are all partners of the Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative — a collaboration of government, industry and academic partners working together to bring driverless vehicles safely and successfully to Australian roads.

“With the driverless car industry expected to be worth $90 billion worldwide by 2030, it’s vital that we encourage and support businesses locally to get involved on the ground floor,” said Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan.

Image courtesy Telstra.

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