Audi signs up Huawei to leverage its way into the China connected car market

© Audi

© Audi

  • Huawei and Audi sign MoU for strategic cooperation
  • Will develop LTE-based V2X technologies
  • Initial focus will be on the China automotive market
  • Desire to use this technology to create “intelligent cities”

Huawei continues to extend its reach into every possible cellular use case sector, with the signing of an MoU with German car manufacturer Audi to develop intelligent connected vehicles. The agreement forms part of a broad partnership between the companies, and was apparently initiated at the highest political level (now that 5G is a bona fide negotiable political asset) by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Audi became the first overseas automobile manufacturer to participate in the initial deployment of what they are calling LTE-V on public roads in the city of Wuxi in eastern China in 2017. Drivers were provided with real-time traffic information via connections to traffic light systems and video monitoring at intersections.

The concept behind LTE-V has been around for a number of years – certainly LG was proposing it back in 2014 – and the acronym is shorthand (much favoured by the Chinese) for 3GPP vehicle-based specifications, namely V2V and V2X as well as direct sidelink communications. The IEEE has also been using the LTE-V term, as recently as 2016, as a TD-LTE V2X solution for future vehicular networks.

If you want a crash course (no pun intended) in future connected vehicle scenarios, we can recommend this white paper from the 5G PPP automotive  project. Audi is not one of the car companies, but Huawei is amongst the vendor contributors (the telco partners are Orange, Vodafone and Docomo). However, Audi and Huawei were amongst the founders of the 5GAA cross industry organization and have held several joint demos and trials in various countries including Germany, Spain and China. Its latest white paper on the LTE-V2X vision can be read here.

Key Quotes:

  • “We are entering a new era of intelligent vehicles that will see the emergence of new technological synergies between information and communications technology and the automotive industries,” said Veni Shone, President of LTE Solution, Huawei.
  •  “Our aim is to improve safety and optimize traffic flows in order to create intelligent cities,” said Saad Metz, EVP of Audi China. “The concepts will be concentrated initially on the Chinese market.”

 

Original press release:

 

Huawei and Audi Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Cooperation

[Berlin, Germany, July 10, 2018] Huawei, a leading information and communications technology company, today gained a strong partner for the development of intelligent connected vehicles signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a strategic cooperation with Audi, the German automobile manufacturer, today. The agreement forms part of a broad-based partnership between the companies in the two countries initiated by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Huawei and Audi Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Cooperation

“We are entering a new era of intelligent vehicles that will see the emergence of new technological synergies between information and communications technology and the automotive industries,” said Veni Shone, President of LTE Solution, Huawei, adding: “With increased innovation in mobile connectivity, Huawei is committed to transforming the driving experience.”

The cooperation between Huawei and Audi is also intended to facilitate the ongoing advancement of intelligent driving and the digitalization of services in the vehicle environment. To this end, the parties have additionally agreed to jointly develop training programs in order to strengthen the skills of technology experts in both of these areas. Intelligent connected vehicles allow relevant information to be exchanged between the vehicle and the surrounding environment. To achieve this, cars need a high-quality, stable data connection. The expansion of this communication requires intensive research and development.

“We are intensifying our joint research with Huawei in the area of intelligent connected vehicles,” explained Saad Metz, Executive Vice President of Audi China, adding: “Our aim is to improve safety and optimize traffic flows in order to create intelligent cities. The concepts will be concentrated initially on the Chinese market.”

Working in cooperation with Huawei and the Chinese authorities, Audi became the first foreign automobile manufacturer to participate in the first-time deployment of “LTE-V” on public roads in the megacity of Wuxi in eastern China in 2017. “LTE-V” is a mobile communication standard, which is specially tailored for connected cars. Drivers were provided with real-time traffic information via connections to traffic light systems and video monitoring at intersections.

In September 2018, the project will enter its next phase at the “World Internet of Things Exposition” in Wuxi with an even broader range of applications.

Before the signing of this MoU, Huawei and Audi have cooperated in many areas related to intelligent connected vehicles in recent years. The two companies initiated the telecom-vehicle cross industry organization 5GAA and have held several joint demos/trials in various countries including Germany, Spain and China, ensuring the vibrant growth of the intelligent connected vehicles industry.

This content extract was originally sourced from an external website (Huawei Corporate News) and is the copyright of the external website owner. TelecomTV is not responsible for the content of external websites. Legal Notices

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