The Indian road system records high fatality rates, especially within highway ecosystems, which is also a global problem, necessitating intervention in transportation systems. Globally, experts agree that the solution to this problem lies in implementation of one technology—cellular vehicular-to-everything, or C-V2X. This technology can make cars intelligent by providing informative messages about pedestrian movement, vehicle congestion, accident-prone areas, roads under construction or repair, among other things. Deploying 6G technology with software architecture, hardware interfaces, and a network model will reduce driver response times from an average of 10 seconds to 50 milliseconds, allowing them to make prompt decisions, thus reducing fatality rates.
Ahmedabad University's Associate Professor from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, Professor Dhaval Patel's research project, "Deployment of 6G Accelerated Smart Transportation with C-V2X on Ahmedabad-Rajkot Highway (NH47) Corridor," aims to design and deliver high-reliability, low-latency V2I communication, essential for ushering in intelligent transportation in India.
The academia-industry collaboration, led by the Machine Intelligence, Computing, and xG Networks (MICxN) Research Lab, at Ahmedabad University, in partnership with TechSture Technologies India Pvt Ltd, will develop and implement a real-world testbed on a 41-kilometre stretch of the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway, operating in the sub-6 GHz frequency band (5.9 GHz). It aims to elevate India's Intelligent Transportation System by integrating advanced 6G-V2X technology with cutting-edge Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) capabilities. The project focuses on the fusion of 6G-V2X technology with ISAC, enabling vehicles to communicate and sense their environment in real-time. This 6G-V2X testbed supports crucial safety applications such as Hazard Location Notifications, speed limit warnings, and pedestrian crosswalk alerts, ensuring that drivers receive timely, accurate information to enhance road safety and reduce accidents.
The project also seeks to optimise traffic management and efficiency. Research on 6G-V2X systems will address resource allocation and interference management, using real-time simulators to optimise the ISAC performance. Analytical modelling and optimisation strategies will be developed to enhance both communication and sensing, ensuring robust performance in real-world conditions.
As regards the academic side, Professor Patel will create an entire research framework to establish this technology and demonstrate its societal benefits. Additionally, he aims to incorporate globally defined technological readiness levels like TRL 5 to TRL 6, enabling auto manufacturers to integrate vehicular systems with infrastructure and cloud systems. This integration will provide drivers with alerts that help them regulate speed, identify vehicle malfunctions, and detect driver behaviour, resolving issues before they escalate and reducing reaction times.
One of the outcomes of this research project is the development of policy recommendations that transportation policymakers and auto manufacturers should consider when creating vehicular systems. Since electronics accounts for approximately 35 to 40 per cent of a car’s mechanism, these systems can be made more sophisticated by adopting this technology and aligning with policy recommendations. The On-Board Unit and sensor interface allow the car to read its environment. If the vehicle has a predefined database about road conditions and other factors, it will receive alerts on various aspects, including driver behavioural tendencies, making the system truly intelligent.
The research project recently received funding under the Telecom Technology Development Fund Scheme, part of the Bharat 6G Vision, with support from the Telecom Centres of Excellence and the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communication, Government of India.