Connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles (C/AVs), Vehicle to Everything (V2X), Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Smart Cities … all hot topics, anywhere you look. Well, it’s true, it’s the future of transportation and it’s coming sooner than you realise. That’s great news for drivers, pedestrians and city managers out there because these upcoming technologies promise to make the roads safer. In fact, according to the US Department of Transportation, using some of these new technologies - even in their early stages - can affect over 329,000 crashes and 7,000 fatalities annually. So why haven’t we fully embraced all of these new ITS technologies and deployed them nationally?
There are a few reasons for this, not least infrastructure technology know-how, existing communication infrastructure and funding.
Infrastructure technology know-how
Tech know-how can be a challenge in today’s ITS environments. Gone are the days of electrical engineering being good enough to handle a city’s transportation communication infrastructure. The reality is that now you must be a network infrastructure engineer as well. This is a big shift in technical aptitude for your average ITS manager - who is now over 45 years old and never really had to deeply understand networks before. Today’s expectations are different than even just 10 years ago. The network is far more important: without it, many cities are blind to the potential problems that may be occurring. Furthermore, C/AVs, IoT, 5G and Smart Cities all rely heavily on network infrastructure to operate. For this reason, we must all learn more about how networks work so we can effectively deploy, monitor and manage our intersections in the safest way possible. Whether it’s IP Video, vehicle detection, DMS or just the latest controllers that rely heavily on the network for reporting statistics, the network has become a critical piece of infrastructure that simply cannot be ignored.
Some of the ITS industry manufacturers, consultants, engineers and even industry groups have taken note of this technology gap and started to offer networking training to municipalities to help bridge the gap between the old and new way of doing things. Whether its IMSA online or at a local trade show, or a local ITS or ITE chapter offering a lunch-and-learn about networking, more and more of us are able to get the desperately-needed network education. There are even examples of online ITS-specific networking training that can now be found.
It is a good idea to start with some basic training and then seek out more advanced concepts as needed. Once the basics are learned, the true big picture emerges regarding the current state of communications within a city’s ITS infrastructure. Managers can understand the basics and will know what proposals make the most sense. Traffic engineers gain a greater understanding of the potential challenges that lie ahead. Then the question: “Are we ready for the next generation of technology?” can easily be answered. Due to the rapid advancement of technology recently, the answer is usually a resounding “No!” At least through this process, you will know where you need to be and can put together the steps needed to be ready for the plethora of new technologies coming.
Existing infrastructure
Data gathered from network audits across the US supports the observation that most cities’ network infrastructure is not ready. Over 90% of US cities are not prepared for the latest technologies on the road today - or those which are coming within the next couple of years. This is alarming given the amount of lives new technology could potentially save annually, not to mention the travel time reduction of 27%-42%. In fact, most audits today show that a large percentage of existing ITS networks are not configured correctly, not optimised or not even connected at all.
We are seeing the rapid increase in technology in vehicles today, more so than ever in history. It is even possible that we will start to see a Moore’s law type of phenomenon begin to emerge – with technology becoming rapidly more powerful, as its cost falls exponentially. The two most hyped categories today are connected and autonomous vehicles. Connected vehicles are already here, and many manufacturers ship their vehicles with a 4G modem already built in. The connection from the vehicle is often V2X or Cellular V2X, usually focused on 5G.
While 4G technology is already being deployed today in vehicles and at intersections, there is a large amount of latency, making it unsuitable for real-time decision-making. 4G today is good for basic connectivity to intersections and monitoring, but for the next generation of technology coming, 5G is the only way to go: 5G promises - and is delivering in trials - the type of low latency needed for V2X to be successful.
Within the V2X ecosystem there are four types of connections:
- V2I = Vehicle to Infrastructure
- V2V = Vehicle to Vehicle
- V2P = Vehicle to Pedestrian
- V2G = Vehicle to Grid
These technologies are already deployed as pilots in a variety of locations across the US, and the results are promising. The standards for the communication protocols have been agreed upon (J2735 most recently), so car manufacturers can start including some of the systems into their onboard computers. For this reason alone, it is worthwhile to begin planning your data networks for V2X platforms that will be ubiquitous in all cities in the very near future.
As vehicle connectivity becomes standard in almost all car models, consumers will begin to see value and even demand more functionality centered around convenience and safety with the data that is being made available from their vehicles. Currently we see up to 4TB (4 Terabytes or 4,000 Gigabytes) of data being produced in each vehicle every day.
While not all of this data is used or sent outside the vehicle, this gives an idea of how important a good network infrastructure should be to be able to transport the relevant data to the relevant locations. Network requirements are going to continue to grow over time, so implementing a network today for today’s needs will quickly become obsolete and ultimately be a waste of time and money.
From recent surveys, it appears that most technology cycles are now averaging eight years (and up to 15 years) for some city ITS networks. For this reason, we must build some future-proofing into our existing infrastructure.
Networks being deployed today that are ready for future ITS technologies have 10Gbs backbones, with all intersections connected with fibre and multiple redundant paths. Multiple VLANs will be used and VRRP routing will connect hubs to the traffic management centre (TMC). While this may not be feasible to achieve within your current budget, there are ways to move non-connected intersections or copper-only intersections closer to the ideal. This includes leveraging ITS-oriented Ethernet switches, 4G, Wi-Fi and in some cases even VDSL2 technology (the use of existing copper wiring over longer distances).
If this all sounds daunting… well, it is. It’s not easy to make the transition from electrical engineer to network engineer, especially in ITS where there are distinctly different needs from your typical office-style IT department. The good news is that you are not alone, everyone is going through this transformation and many are willing to help and share their experiences.
Funding
As if the technical aspect of preparing your network for today and tomorrow wasn’t difficult enough, you will need to find ways to pay for it all. Some agencies have had success finding the appropriate government programme. There is money out there for smart city applications - especially if you are able to move quickly and establish yourself as an early adopter. Infrastructure is necessary in order to even consider being an early adopter. That, of course, is a benefit to your existing situation as upgrading your COMS will increase your efficiency and stability, making your cameras and controllers more reliably connected while you deploy a new V2X technology. The good news is that you don’t need to be an early adopter in order to secure government funds; you just need to take advantage of some of the new infrastructure spending bills recently passed by Congress. You can find helpful information on this topic on USDOT’s web site.
It can be difficult to even find the time to write and submit the applications for these grants, but those same vendors, consultants and integrators that help with training will often have templates for government funds applications for you to follow as they have likely gone through this process with other cities already. It is a good idea to leverage them where possible.
In conclusion, the future of ITS is happening at an accelerated pace. Before getting too excited about the new software and hardware available today and in the near future, be sure to get your communications infrastructure in order. If you follow the systematic approach mentioned earlier, your chance of success increases. With a good foundation of knowledge and a revitalised infrastructure, the implementation of any new ITS technology will be a lot smoother, with less time and less money spent.
What should you do next? Take the first step: pursue specific ITS networking knowledge through industry experts, vendors, ITS, ITE and IMSA. Get your plan together and start upgrading - you will be glad you did.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Toepper, director of products and marketing at EtherWan, has been in the networking industry for 24 years, and has worked for large companies including 3Com, Digi and Moxa
Communications checklist
While every city is different, here are some basic guidelines to follow when considering updating your communication network:
- Get educated on networking even if it’s the basics
- Conduct a network audit with a knowledgeable company
- Plan your new network for the next 10 years (think higher bandwidth)
- Deploy your network efficiently (don’t waste bandwidth)
- Be sure you know how to maintain your new network (get more educated)
- Monitor your network for optimised performance
