Project SafeRoute-6G

Effectively operating a safe road network is an essential requirement for any modern society. As part of the EU road safety policy framework 2021-2030, the European Commission has the target to reduce road deaths and serious injuries by half between 2020 and 2030. Technological development plays a key role in improving road safety and achieving these important visions and goals.

The challenge in establishing the reliable wireless connectivity, computing and sensing infrastructure, required by the road safety services, lies in the fact that vehicles are highly mobile and may travel very long distances within the global road network. It has been proven financially or business-wise difficult to cover the road network with a single technology and full system capabilities. As a result, many areas where vehicles are travelling are still lacking the needed network and services support. Vehicles are increasingly equipped with cellular communications. In addition, short range communications (ITS-G5 and C-V2X) are appearing on the market. Non-Terrestrial Networks have improved throughput, lower latency and lower costs and can be a feasible solution for communications in rural areas. In future 3GPP releases satellite communications will be an integrated part of 6G.

The project will cover four main use cases:

1. Collection, evaluation and distribution of sensor information from vehicles, road weather stations and other sensors in the vicinity, and their use in advanced safety services

2. Cyber threat detection and prevention using Digital Twin

3. Using hybrid communication for teleoperation and remote monitoring of automated vehicles

4. Implementing cross-border exchange of C-ITS messages

The aim of the proposed project is to implement solutions for 1) weather, safety and road maintenance services, 2) network vendors, operators and solution providers, 3) commercial fleet operators and operators of automated vehicle fleets, and 4) autonomous driving industry