46 july 2019 http://www.gadgetsmagazine.com.ph
Telecommunications firm PLDT Inc. announced earlier this year its partnership with global technology company
Cisco to provide 5G-ready IP transport network in the Philippines. This underscores the role of 5G technology in
the future of transportation, whether its autonomous cars or not.Transportation is just one of the many use cases
of 5G technology, which is basically the fifth
generation of cellular network technology that
promises a much faster internet speed than 4G.Internet of Business site reported that with 5G
coming, there will be 125 million connected
vehicles by 2022.According to Intel, “5G will drive innovation
across verticals, unleashing a superhighway of
information traveling at extreme speeds over
transformed mobile networks.” The technology
company predicts that by 2050, the value of
passenger economy will reach $7 trillion with
pilotless vehicles used for service and goods
delivery contributing $200 million.Ericsson, a Swedish multinational networking
and telecommunications company, said in a
blog post that “the future of connected vehicles
lies with 5G.”But more than the need for a high-speed
connection, the role of 5G in autonomous cars
is crucial especially with data traveling from the
car to the cloud. Ericsson said a popular case for
connected vehicles is sharing braking data. It
cites as an example the need for these pilotlessRole of 5G in autonomous cars
Words by Marlet D. Salazar
Art by Zeil Romero and Simon Engracialcars to “communicate” with other pilotless cars
on the road. Data collection is paramount not
only in the effectiveness of self-driving vehicles
but as a safety feature as well. If the connection
is slow, the chance of delay in response is quite
significant and the delay in relaying information
among cars may pose risks.Ericsson also advised automakers not to focus
too much on 5G alone but should also pair it
with edge computing. Edge computing is a
distributed computing paradigm which brings
computer data storage closer to the location
where it is needed. Computation is largely or
completely performed on distributed device
nodes.In terms of entertainment, Intel and production
outfit Warner Bros. displayed at CES 2019 the
potential of immersive entertainment in a “first-
of-its-kind concept car.” Guests experienced
a virtual ride and 270-degree entertainment
through the streets of Gotham City.This is Intel’s response to its prediction of
passenger economy, which the company
believes will “free more than 250 million hours
of commuting time per year in the world’s most
congested cities. What’s more, Intel predictsa total addressable market of $200 billion
from rising consumer use of new in-vehicle
applications and content.”Providing entertainment, as well as route
and road safety situation, needs low latency
connection that 5G and edge computing
promise to deliver. Information such as ETA or
notification of simply buckling up is seen to be
a few of the important features in autonomous
vehicles.However, in a report by Brian Santo of EDN
Network, automakers and technology partners
who were at the CES 2019 did not express
much enthusiasm with 5G and autonomous
vehicles as evidenced by their lack of plans for
“vehicle autonomy on the availability of 5G
coverage.”5G is touted as “the most significant data
network advancement to date.” Aside from
transportation, other use cases include
connected devices or the Internet of Things,
healthcare, and smart cities. Even if 5G has not
gone mainstream yet (Ericsson has deployed
the technology is some countries), people
have put so much faith in it that somehow the
expectations are almost unimaginable..
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