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CAV News Digest - Vol. 3 Number3 June 2019

Barry Einsig

Principal

Looking back on the battle between VHS and Betamax in the 1980s and the current state of movie streaming services today, the past 40 years in the film industry is proof that technology will continue to evolve, often in disruptive waves, to meet the needs of the market. As an industry in these disruptive times, the worst thing to do is nothing and wait. As Bill Gates was famously quoted: "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction."

The same applies to connectivity, automation, and upgrades to digital infrastructure, particularly for safety-of-life applications. Waiting for the next great technology works against us when we are losing almost 100 people per day to traffic-related fatalities. This is especially true when we can apply existing connectivity and digital technologies to save lives today. Technology evolution in the Cooperative Automated Transportation Systems (CATS) industry is inevitable, particularly for safety-of-life and mobility applications. For Cooperative Automated Systems, Smart City, and the connected mobility ecosystem, the time to act is now.

CATS have applications that offer cities and transportation agencies new levels of capabilities now. When it comes to transportation management, cities, municipalities, governments, and their advisors are scrambling to catch up with all the new technologies, applications, capabilities, and services. Fortunately for the transportation management industry, CATS has an advantage. It can leverage a larger collection of industries that are focused on the same problem set. In addition to the traffic management industry, these include traditional Infrastructure Owners and Operators (IOO), automotive OEMs and partners, telecommunications providers, the technology industry, and the startup community.

This is of particular importance in the planning, design, deployment, operations, and maintenance of the new technologies that affect the larger transportation management industry. In this issue of the CAVita News Digest, some of the recent industry highlights featured address these disruptive technologies and how collaboration is critical in understanding and implementing them into the larger evolving connected mobility and Smart Cities ecosystem.

1. Will Surging IoT Connections Help Mobile

Infrastructure Suppliers and Operators?

The Story: In his recent editorial, Stefan Pongratz points out that Wide-Area IoT connections – including cellular and non-cellular technologies – increased nearly 70% in 2018, growing at a much faster pace than expected. With global Wide-Area IoT connections on track to surpass 4 billion connections by 2023, he questions if the time is right to analyze the revenue implications: what does this ostensibly exciting IoT connection forecast really mean – can billions of connections change the trajectory for the mobile infrastructure suppliers and the operators?

The Takeaway: With the connected car projected to comprise a single-digit share of the 2023 Wide-Area IoT installed base and Massive IoT expected to consume the lion's share of the connection growth, revenue per connection pressures, normalized for the vastly different traffic and revenue profiles across the various IoT domains, could be a drag on the upside.

Pongratz is optimistic about the near-term Broadband IoT upside and project this will produce tangible revenue growth for both the suppliers and operators.

2. Micron Launches Managed NAND Products For Connected Vehicles

The Story: Micron recently launched the UFS 2.1 managed NAND products for automotive applications designed to enhance driver experience in connected vehicles. The products will be offered in different capacity variations ranging from 32 GB to 256 GB. The new suite of products will enable a quick system start-up and provide higher data bandwidth for in-vehicle V2X systems.

The Takeaway: Micron recognizes and is taking significant steps to address the technology requirements for CAV, particularly the handling and storage of data. The company's recent product introductions are designed to enable faster, more cost-effective, and powerful storage solutions for level 3 or higher automated cars and the industrial Internet of Things (IoT).

Micron believes that this will enable overall system bandwidths of up to 100 gigabytes per second. However, the company estimates that bandwidths of 300 GB/s will be required to power Level 5 automated vehicles. Look for even more technology capabilities targeting CAV soon.

3. Teamwork Will Help Unlock Revenue Potential of Vehicle Data

The Story: Growth in global car sales is expected to slow by 2030, a trend that may be accelerated by growth in automated vehicle fleets and other transportation services that move away from the single-owner model. But, the data that will come from automated and connected vehicles have enormous potential value and could offset revenue declines from car sales and insurance.

The Takeaway: Nearly all vehicles today have telematics integrations built in; many use aftermarket devices such as black boxes or plugin devices to provide direct links to their vehicle’s computer and provide similar data. So, already, data are being collected and monitored, but the challenge is that they’re all being collected by different devices, so it’s coming to automotive companies and insurers in different forms and metrics, making it inefficient for them to use the data to improve their products, services, and customer experience.

More than 80 percent of auto industry executives expect data to be a primary revenue source in future business models, according to a recent KPMG report. This data can eventually help reduce ownership costs through discounted auto insurance.

4. LTE C-V2N and DSRC Connected Vehicle Latency Approximately Equivalent for Infrastructure Messages Says University of Alabama Study Presented at ITS America Annual Meeting

The Story: A side-by-side comparison of connected vehicle technology at 85 traffic signals in the Tuscaloosa, AL area showed that latency in delivering safety messages from roadside units (RSUs) to vehicles via dedicated short-range radios (DSRC) and LTE cellular (C-V2N) was: “approximately equivalent,” according to a study which was presented at the ITS America Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The Takeaway: The study showed that 4G LTE communications had a latency period of less than 300 milliseconds. While this period is longer than the DSRC communications, the study demonstrated that the time difference in latency periods have very little difference in the applications tested with this platform.

The study also concluded that:

Cellular technology was much easier to configure and install than the DSRC equipment
In terms of configuration, the cellular units have the ability to have their firmware updated wirelessly
The most reliable way to update the DSRC units is through direct ethernet connection
Aftermarket OBUs cost upwards of $1,000 and usually require modification of the vehicle. This makes the distribution of DSRC technology beyond pilot programs more expensive

5. USDOT Seeks Input on Testing Vehicles with Automated Driving Technologies

The Story: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently issued advance notices of proposed rulemaking on the removal of unnecessary regulatory barriers to the safe introduction of automated driving systems (ADS) vehicles in the United States.

The Takeaway: NHTSA seeks comment on identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to the deployment of ADS vehicles posed by certain existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

According to FMCSA, the agency is hoping to receive feedback from commercial motor vehicle stakeholders and the motoring public on how the agency should adapt its regulations for the development of increased automated driving systems in large trucks and buses.

About CAVita

CAVita is a strategic consultancy focused on connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) that was formed in 2015 by seasoned and highly respected ITS industry executives Abbas Mohaddes and Peter Sweatman to provide public and private companies, municipalities, and organizations with the deep expertise required to successfully navigate and take advantage of transportation’s evolution.

Now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Econolite, CAVita maintains extensive contacts with decision-makers in vehicle and infrastructure technology, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), mobility systems for people and freight, technology companies, CAV deployment and testing consortia, leading research universities, and broader parts of the ecosystem including telecommunications, data analytics, logistics, Internet-of-Things (IOT), and insurance. Furthermore, CAVita’s Econolite affiliation affords unparalleled access to a broad array of engineering resources, ITS expertise, and deployment capabilities.

CAVita’s clients include some of the transportation industry’s leading organizations, such as the two largest transportation research institutes, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Other clients include the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), and numerous private companies.

Contact CAVita today to discuss how we can help you accomplish your connected and automated vehicle goals!

CAV News Digest is a production of CAVita, LLC, an Econolite company.

For more information on CAVita and its services, please contact:

Econolite Marketing
marketing@econolite.com