u‑blox, Commsignia and NXP collaborate to drive V2X

Thalwil, Switzerland and Santa Clara, USA – May 24, 2017 – V2X leaders u‑blox (SIX:UBXN), Commsignia Inc and NXP Semiconductors, today announced a strategic collaboration, in order to address the rapidly growing demand for reliable Vehicle‑to‑Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle‑to‑Infrastructure (V2I) technology.

The adoption of V2X technology in North America and European markets equips new vehicles with the ability to securely and anonymously share information with other similarly equipped vehicles, infrastructure and even pedestrians within a radius of up to 1km. IEEE 802.11p V2X technology is the only proven and production ready technology today that can reliably see around corners. V2X information will augment the awareness of drivers to improve safety, reduce congestion and emissions, thereby delivering real savings and benefits to all road users today and in the future for self-driving autonomous vehicles.

This collaboration builds on the strengths of all three companies to deliver substantial time-to-market advantages and benefits to automotive customers, with future-proof solutions that optimise investments and mitigate risks. Automotive manufacturers are looking for ways to bring V2X to market now, ramping up to 100% implementation in new cars within the next five years. This collaboration between three of the market leaders will accelerate the adoption of V2X technology thanks to the availability of fully integrated hardware and software solutions in a fully‑fledged and secure (US DOT SCMS compliant) V2X system.

“This collaboration focuses on delivering production-ready Vehicle‑to‑Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle‑to‑Infrastructure (V2I) systems like our V2X communication module,” said Costas Meimetis, Director Product Strategy Short Range Radio at u-blox. “We are already present in the market through our THEO module family, this collaboration will strengthen our position and allow u‑blox to innovate faster, bringing new solutions to market starting. Our expertise and this collaboration means we are uniquely positioned to meet the increasing demand from automotive manufacturers, who must meet new legislation in key markets.”

“NXP’s status as a Dedicated Short‑Range Communication (DSRC) V2X technology leader, is a key reason u‑blox chose NXP’s RoadLINK solution, a complete automotive grade 2 +105C ambient, V2X system solution with best‑in‑class performance to power their V2X module,” commented Rob Hoeben, Senior Director, V2X Segment. V2X is the only ADAS technology that operates in real-time, lowest latency and sees around corners, facilitating self-driving autonomous vehicles. V2X, IEEE 802.11p based, is complementary to 5G versions of V2X and both technologies are expected to co-exist for the foreseeable future. NXP has participated in several V2X demos and trials, including truck platooning, achieving short separation distances between trucks. NXP’s RoadLINK solution, which is currently in production with a major North American OEM, will help ensure the u-blox module can deliver accurate and reliable communications to and from a vehicle.

“Commsignia leads the market with the best end‑to‑end V2X software suite for connecting cars and smart city infrastructure,” said Jozsef Kovacs, CEO of Commsignia. “Combined with the NXP RoadLINK chipset and u‑blox module, automotive manufacturers can benefit from the enhanced performance of a secure and fully integrated solution to implement V2X technology in new vehicle designs, so taking the next step towards improving the safety and efficiency of our roads.”

u-blox, Commsignia and NXP, will be demonstrating live how this collaboration is enabling lifesaving V2V applications at the TU-Automotive Detroit Conference and Expo, 7‑8 June 2017. The demo entitled Fast track to safe & secure V2X will show the following use cases.