Zenzic convenes consortium to build and validate V2X applications

Zenzic, the government funded organisation set up to accelerate self-driving technology in the UK, has convened a multi-national consortium to build and demonstrate broad vehicle to everything (V2X) capabilities in the UK

The project is funded by the government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), coordinated by Zenzic and led by connected car/V2X software and hardware developer Commsignia in partnership with Zenzic’s CAM Testbed UK partners and technology companies including Vodafone and Nokia.

The project aims to assess the current state of play across the UK’s V2X landscape and deploy a pilot installation across CAM Testbed UK. The aim is “to deliver a reliable, trusted and secure service which is scalable for end-to-end trials and testing of initial V2X services”.

The UK transport sector, says Zenzic, has reached a critical moment in the enabling of connected car services and while the discussion on the applications of V2X is increasing, there is still work to be done on the required development and services that are needed to realise its value. The collaboration and co-ordination between road operators, mobile network operators and vehicle OEMs will be necessary for V2X services to move towards deployment.

Peter Stoker, Chief Engineer, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles at UTAC Millbrook, a member of CAM Testbed UK said, “We are delighted to be part of this multi sector group to look at and implement V2X services at our location and to other sites. It will inform policy and technology choices for the future in having a controlled network where all comers can trial, assess and sometimes fail in private before public deployment”.

Luke Ibbetson, Head of Group R&D, Vodafone Technology, added, “Vodafone is delighted to be delivering our mobility cloud capability to the UK CAM testbed initiative to improve road safety. Many organisations, including vehicle manufacturers and road operators, will benefit from advanced connected mobility services using highly responsive edge cloud infrastructure.

“V2X connectivity will transform mobility services but we need to validate them to ensure they perform robustly and are safe and secure. The knowhow developed during this project will be integrated into ASSURED CAV and delivered as a portfolio of connectivity services to our clients,” says Chris Reeves, Head of CAV Technologies at HORIBA MIRA.