5G network improves traffic safety – developed services demonstrated in winter conditions in Sodankylä
Vehicles on their way to the test track in Sodankylä. Photo: Tarja Österberg.The demonstration of the 5G-Safe-Plus project was organised on the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s road weather services and intelligent transport test track in Sodankylä on 15 December. The test track has a permanent road weather and intelligent transport infrastructure that enables the demonstration of services in conditions corresponding to the actual traffic environment.
The demonstrations presented the utilisation of hybrid communication in the provision of intelligent transport services, real-time road weather services, automation of winter maintenance by road managers, safety-critical services for autonomous traffic and information security solutions in the intelligent transport environment.
‘Completing the demonstrations in challenging conditions, in intense frost and snowfall, tells that the project has succeeded in its most essential aspects,’ says Dr.Timo Sukuvaara from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Demonstrations presented road safety services from the perspective of both road managers and end users
The demonstration presented five different intelligent transport service concepts and their technical enablers, including the 5G network.
The objective of the hybrid communication demonstration was to warn all approaching vehicles of a surprising obstacle on the road as quickly as possible by using all available intelligent transportation communication methods. The obstacle warning reached vehicles that use the 5G network, the short-range ITS-G5 network and satellite communications. Vehicle movements and warnings received by them were visualised in the test track’s digital twin produced by Sitowise.
The real-time transmission of road weather services was demonstrated in a scenario in which a warning of an icy and slippery road was produced based on observation data from a sensor embedded in the road, based on road weather station sensor data and based on mobile observations made directly from the vehicle. All warnings were transmitted to end users without delay.
Solutions that facilitate road manager’s winter maintenance were presented in several different operating scenarios. Data transmitted directly from driven vehicles to the road manager, combining real-time data from roadside stations and maintenance vehicles and using vehicle camera data as a maintenance tool offer completely new kinds of tools for intelligent road maintenance.
The safety-critical services of automated vehicles were demonstrated in a scenario where the roadside unit identified a pedestrian at the edge of the road with camera and LiDAR sensors. Through an edge computing server in the 5G network, the pedestrian warning was transmitted with telecommunications connections to VTT’s robot car and a motorcycle going in the opposite direction. The robot car and motorcycle also communicated with each other through a 5G connection about safely bypassing the pedestrian.
At the end of the demonstration day, Wedge Networks from Canada presented how its information security solution can be used to minimise the security risks associated with intelligent transport.
‘All scenarios were successfully presented to the audience. The demonstrations concretely illustrated the benefits of 5G and other telecommunications technologies, edge computing and various sensor solutions as enablers of new digital services that improve road safety’, says Dr. Tiia Ojanperä from VTT.
Further information:
Pekka Eloranta, Leading Consultant, Sitowise Oy, tel. +358 40 5050 1818, pekka.eloranta@sitowise.com
Tiia Ojanperä, D.Sc. (Tech.), Principal Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., tel. +358 20 722 2077, tiia.ojanpera@vtt.fi
Timo Sukuvaara, D.Sc.(Tech.), Senior Research Scientist, Group Manager, Finnish Meteorological Institute, tel. +358 40 529 4977, timo.sukuvaara@fmi.fi
Iiro Salkari, Head of Portfolio, Weather and Environment, Vaisala Oyj, tel. +358 40 525 4771, iiro.salkari@vaisala.com
Oiva Huuskonen, Lic.Sc.(Tech.), Development Manager of Maintenance Services, Destia Oy, tel. +358 40 5671 296, oiva.huuskonen@destia.fi
The 5G-Safe-Plus project implemented between 2019 and 2023 is part of the international Eureka Celtic Next project. The project involves an extensive network of experts from both Finland and international partners.