As 5Gnetworks could be as much as 10 times more efficient than 4G networks, communications service providers (CSPs) could see future market opportunities with manufacturers of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the fields of driver safety and data processing and management, Gartner said on Friday.
AV systems and sensors will generate data in huge amounts, thereby allowing automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to extract data insights while limiting the associated provisioning costs. “CSPs have an opportunity to become strategic partners for OEMs by applying 5G capabilities to address AV OEM data growth,” said Jonathan Davenport, senior research analyst at Gartner. Also, 5G will provide passengers of AVs with high-quality infotainment services.
By 2025, AVs are expected to upload over 1 terabyte (TB) of vehicle and sensor data per month to the cloud as compared to 30 gigabytes (GB) from advanced connected cars in 2018. “To seize the opportunity, CSPs need to make sure 5G is included in the design of future vehicles, in the fields of safety and connectivity, where the biggest chances lie,” said Davenport.
“AVs periodically face a set of conditions they cannot immediately navigate, which results in the need for a vehicle-human handover,” explained Davenport. “This handover deactivates the autonomous mode and hands over control to a human driver — but such a handover is not always possible.”
He suggested a potential solution for these scenarios where a handover to the human driver fails is to use remote pilots. Human pilots can be the recipient of a planned remote handover or help recover an AV that has become stuck.
5G is not a technology that can be fully deployed right now, and according to Gartner it will generate only limited benefits for AVs in the next five years. OEMs will need comprehensive end-to-end data solutions to streamline their management of data connectivity, storage and analytics.
