University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), in collaboration with industry members of 5GAA, have begun testing the simultaneous deployment of C-V2X and DSRC in the Ann Arbor Connected Environment (AACE). The AACE, established in 2012 under the U. S. DOT-funded Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment program, is the most advanced connected environment in the U.S. covering 27 square miles, with 75 active RSU installations, 2500 DSRC-equipped vehicles deployed, and utilizing a production security credential certificate system.
AACE will vacate the top 20 MHz (channels 182 and 184) of the 5.9 GHz spectrum allocated by the FCC by moving its existing applications to the remaining five channels in order to evaluate the ability to deploy both DSRC and C-V2X in parallel on adjacent channels, further maximizing utilization of the FCC allocated spectrum for safety and mobility applications.
Jim Sayer, UMTRI Director and principal investigator for AACE stated: “It is important to demonstrate that C-V2X and DSRC can occupy adjacent channels in a real-world environment, but equally important to continue to illustrate how connected vehicle technology can prevent crashes, save lives, and alleviate congestion.”
The AACE environment has already deployed both V2X and V2I applications including Forward Collision Warning, Emergency Electronic Brake Light, Emergency Vehicle Approach, Intersection Movement Assist, Curve Speed Warning, Ice Warning, Red Light Violation Warning, and Pedestrian in Crosswalk Warning, and pending successful testing will look to deploy similar applications utilizing C-V2X.
Debby Bezzina, who manages the AACE stated: “Once we demonstrate that CV2X and DSRC can coexist on a large-scale, the next step is to prove that CV2X and DSRC can be interoperable. At UMTRI, we purport that connected vehicle technology will be a stepping-stone to commercialization of automated vehicles.
