New ITU-led expert group on communications technology for automated driving
A new expert group aims to determine the requirements for all new cars sold from 2032 onwards to be equipped with communications technology for safe automated driving.
The group – initiated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and set to meet for the first time on 8 March – will explore the requirements for vehicle communications technology and standardization. It will also consider possible approaches to meet these requirements, aiming to recommend solutions for international regulation.
Key challenges to address include the need for reliable automated lane merging, an essential component of safe automated driving that is yet to be solved.
The group will also clarify appropriate timelines for the introduction of the required technologies and the supporting actions needed from industry and governments.
The group forms part of the Collaboration on Intelligent Transport System Communication Standards (CITS), also led by ITU.
This wider collaboration stimulates coordinated action to ensure comprehensive standards – for a future where self-driving vehicles will communicate and cooperate to achieve greater road safety.
CITS includes all standards bodies working on intelligent transport. CITS database of key standards.
Coordinated action for safer roads
The new expert group on automated driving will support a task force on vehicular communications run by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
The task force aims to establish a global structure for how vehicles communicate, initially with one another and potentially later with the surrounding environment.
ITU’s longstanding partnership with UNECE supports cohesion in the technology, business, and regulation.
UNECE provides a global regulatory structure on vehicles and road traffic, while ITU supports global advances in information and communication technology and related radio-frequency spectrum regulation.
The partnership helps ITU to develop international technical standards and communications regulations that are aligned with the priorities of vehicle regulators.
The annual ITU-UNECE Future Networked Car Symposium brings together experts from industry and government to examine the latest advances in vehicle automation and connectivity.
The next edition of the symposium will be held online from 11 to 14 March, with communications for automated driving in focus on 14 March (full programme). The symposium will be followed by a meeting of CITS online on 15 March.
For an overview of all ITU standardization work on intelligent transport systems, see ITU’s dedicated web pages.
