How will self-driving cars and autonomous vehicle technology transform society?

The future of the autonomous driving industry is still unwritten, and a lot more needs to be achieved in the autonomous driving segment. To start with industry leaders should master the art of connectivity for the V2X (vehicle-to-everything) capabilities, to achieve the autonomous driving promises. Here's an overview of key connectivity requirements to make that happen.

1. The Need for Network-Based Architecture

Autonomous driving demands more and more reliable network-based structures, which implies redundant and real-time architecture to organize high-performance clusters in functional domains. These architectures would be connected via a central gateway in a high-speed data backbone structure. The actuators and group sensors will be organized in a hierarchical framework.

2. High-Speed Data will see an Upward Push

The futuristic driverless cars would be incredibly sophisticated systems, encapsulating high-performance computers integrated with an increasing number of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) sensors. These sensors would mean high-resolution stereo and/or mono cameras, LIDAR, human-machine interfaces (HMIs- large 4K/8K screens) or head-up displays (HUDs) and RADAR capabilities.

These IoT powered sensors will be generating vast amounts of data, to be supported with sophisticated electronic support, that includes high-speed data nodes, assemblies, links and cables. A driverless car will be an information highway enabling parallel running of the data streams. These autonomous vehicles would be managed through switched networks that come with sufficient margins ensuring a safe driverless car operational experience

3. The Key Requirement of External Connectivity

V2X communications should interpret complete data that concerns their surrounding environment. This external data is needed to control and manage the safe driving of the autonomous car and correctly execute actions which include braking or accelerating without human driver assistance.

V2X communications use both sensor technology and radio-based communication. IoT sensors help the vehicle systems to interact with their immediate surroundings. Radio systems let these self-driving vehicles to exchange information with traffic infrastructure such as lights, signs and tolls besides communicating with other vehicles.

4. Answering Safety Calls

As autonomous vehicles become more result-driven, expect more electric wires for safe data transport. To think of an alternative, automotive companies are pondering where and when they can use optical-fibre based connectivity in a bid to shrug off electromagnetic interference. The autonomous vehicle suppliers are developing in-vehicle networks which are based on global automotive ethernet standards to carry encrypted data. This is a gesture to shift from the proprietary and legacy networks where the data is vulnerable and un-encrypted to a more secure communication network.

5. Bracing for Miniaturized Solutions

To fit V2X systems under the hood of the driverless car would mean a pressing need for manufacturers to develop automotive-grade miniaturized connectivity solutions. That would mean, sensors and actuators becoming smaller as the number of links scales up.

Despite the well-publicised controversy that surrounds the complex web of autonomous driving, the automotive industry would continue to invest heavily in the next-gen autonomous vehicles. The key technologies to look forward to would circumvent around three types of sensors: radar, LiDAR and camera. That would increasingly mean no other existing wireless technology can bring significant added value to autonomous cars.

The much-hyped V2X technology helps to reduce traffic congestion, lessen the environmental impact of transportation and optimize traffic flow. This further allows autonomous vehicles to interact with each other besides adding a layer of communication to the vulnerable road user.

The future would mean a safer self-driving experience, are you ready to test the autonomous car yet?