Connecting C-V2X vehicles to cloud services

The world’s first mass-produced 5G and C-V2X-enabled vehicles will be on the road in 2021, according to the Chinese Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

Geely announced that the vehicles will be launched in collaboration with Gosuncn and Qualcomm Technologies, which will assist Geely with 5G and C-V2X (cellular vehicle to everything) products based on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive 5G Platform through Gosuncn.

Over the North American market, Gosuncn Technology Group, a global leader in IoT products and solutions and Mojio, a Canadian connected car platform provider, have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to work together to expand their global presence. The two companies already provide end-to-end smart connected car products and solutions for leading operators such as T-Mobile, Telus, Rogers and Bell in Canada and the United States. Gosuncn supplies intelligent vehicle terminals that provide safe and reliable vehicle connections based on 4G networks. Data is transmitted in real time to the Mojio cloud platform for further processing, and analysis. Functions and extended services provided by Mojio include vehicle positioning, driving behavior analysis, vehicle trouble warning, and high-speed Wi-Fi service. Consumers can use these functions by connecting an easy mounted smart device to the OBD-II port. More than a million users have these devices mounted in the North American and European markets. The next upgrades would include the function of collision detection, and it will be completed by the two companies in the near future. “Gosuncn is committed to providing global customers with innovative connected car products and services throughout the world. Together with Mojio, we can provide highly competitive endto- end solutions for international customers. The close cooperation between both parties can realize the continuous increase of new services and better serve customers through remote upgrading of software and hardware,” said Liu Shuangguang, Chairman of Gosuncn Group in a company statement. Gosuncn has provided 4G smart Connected car terminals to more than 20 companies around the world. Their terminals can be mounted on more than 14,000 models in Europe and the US. Gosuncn has invested in 5G and V2X and will provide leading connected vehicle solutions for more car manufacturers and industry customers in the future based on its development in artificial intelligence. “5G is an inevitable trend in the development of the communications industry. 5G and C-V2X, as a special non-line-of-sight sensor, will become one of the core technologies of autonomous driving,” said Shuangguang. Gosuncn’s specialist IoT integrated solution and service provider is GosuncnWelink. Its high-performance M2M modules deliver wireless connectivity with a variety of air interfaces, including GSM/GPRS, CDMA 1X/EV-DO, WCDMA/HSPA/HSPA+, LTE TDD, and LTE FDD, NB-IoT/eMTC. Since it started developing modules in 2003 the company has received certification for its modules from major telco operators worldwide, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, China Telecom, China Mobile, KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, and SK Telcom.

Automotive Industries (AI) asked Zhijun Wang, VP of Gosuncn Group and the CEO of GosuncnWelink, to tell us about the car, it will be launching in 2021 in collaboration with Geely and Qualcomm. Wang: Geely, China’s largest privately-owned automotive group, shipped more than 1.5 million vehicles in 2018. It is not just a Chinese brand. Its’ brands cover Geely, LINK&CO, Volvo, Mercedes- Benz, Proton and Lotus. In this instance, Geely has clearly defined its plan to support 5G+V2X vehicles as the first Chinese domestic auto brand, which demonstrates its determination to take the lead position in the future of the connected car. Gosuncn, which has been deeply involved in the field of cellular communication for many years, focuses on providing safe and reliable cellular IoT connection.

The company has been working with Geely to provide original devices. This time the company will be investing in 5G&C-V2X, and will fully communicate and cooperate with Qualcomm to support Geely to implement the 2021 5G&C-V2X program. It is also the first Chinese module manufacturer to have defined 5G&C-V2X market demand.

AI: Are there plans for similar tie-ups with other OEMs? Wang: Yes. GosuncnWelink is also actively cooperating with other automotive manufacturers. We have provided cellular connection products for some models of Chinese and European automotive manufacturers directly or through Tier 1 suppliers. We hope that, based on the current accumulation of our original equipment market, we can cooperate with more OEMs, not only in 4G products, but also in the 5G and V2X area.

AI: How does GosuncnWelink develop products for connected cars in collaboration with automotive manufacturers? Wang: While continuously iterating on the basic version of the product, we develop new projects and products according to the customized needs of the client, taking the approach of original design manufacturing. We focus on testing and verification for safety and reliability. New applications are based on the historic validation of our quality systems and supply chain capabilities by many well-known automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers. Once we have established a good working relationship with our clients or partners, we proactively share our expertise in network connectivity and our understanding of security and reliability.

AI: What is the focus of your company’s connected car technologies? Wang: At the original manufacturing level GosuncnWelink focuses on providing customers with safe and reliable connected products. In terms of connectivity, we strive to provide customers with a secure network connection. At the same time, we have become involved in the provision of streamed entertainment, in order to better understand the terminal usage habits and to accumulate more safe connection test cases.

AI: How do you see GosuncnWelink’s expertise in artificial intelligence impacting your company’s automotive offerings? Wang: We will not be involved in the automotive AI area in the short term, but will continue to invest in terminal-related algorithms. In terms of security, we are accustomed to when working with other industries to include high levels of security. Our deep learning algorithm cloud platform and its application have accumulated a considerable amount of learning, which can be seen in the actual application cases in the terminals of other industries.

AI: How do you think connected car technologies will evolve in different regions? Wang: The development of connected car is mainly concentrated in three major markets: North America, Europe, and China. Among them, North America is the earliest and the best. The first generation of networked products represented by GM’s OnStar mainly focuses on vehicle safety functions, such as diagnostics and theft prevention. Along with the development of powertrain technology and the continuous rejuvenation of the end-users, the industry rookie represented by Tesla pays more attention to the expansion of the networking infotainment onboard and the functions of the products turn diversified. North America is the first to make mandatory requirements in V2X, and it has become the leader of the constantly updated iteration of the connected car. Europe as a whole is relatively conservative in the direction of connected car, and the mandatory requirements of the eCall function can also be seen in Europe’s greater focus on safety in the application of connectivity. China is a new force in the connected car. Due to better network coverage, the Internet is developing rapidly and providing a greater user experience. The relatively open Internet environment and many new automakers have stimulated the old car companies to invest more funds and teams in connectivity.

AI: How will your association with Mojio help your company in markets like Canada and the US? Wang: Cooperation between Gosuncn and Mojio is a very good win-win relationship as a model of cooperation. Mojio focuses on platforms and algorithms, but lacks the manufacturing capabilities of end-product development. Gosuncn provides high-quality end products. In the automotive area, we focus on making products, and we do not get involved in areas other than products, such as data and platform algorithms. Mojio has grown considerably since it started working closely with Gosuncn.

AI: What are some of the collaborations we can expect from Gosuncn in the near future? Wang: Gosuncn will always focus on its field of expertise. And we will see more cooperation with more global Tier 1s in the future, including expansion in V2X and 5G.

AI: What are some of the products/technologies your company is planning to launch for automotive applications in 2019-20? Wang: At present, our focus is on helping our customers to launch 5G and V2X products. At the same time, we will continue to develop the market and provide suitable solutions for different regions of the market, for example, to provide solutions for reducing the proportion of intelligent transport system (ITS) accidents. In the Chinese market, we provide end-to-end solutions while there is a different portfolio for customers in the international market. Our technology and product development in the automotive area will adhere to the principle of safety and reliability, to gradually launch innovative and mature technical solutions and products.