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Scania truck

In it for the long haul

Ericsson and Scania

Traffic is building up in cities throughout the world. Not only does this increase congestion and the likelihood of accidents, but it has a devastating impact on the environment. We believe mobile technology can help alleviate these problems and continue to explore next-generation transportation together with Scania.

Case

5G gets the green light

Vehicles will soon have the power to communicate with each other, and with other devices on the road. This will improve safety, but also many other aspects of transportaion such as efficiency and sustainability.

Another hot topic is autonomous vehicles. Although they are designed to handle specific traffic scenarios, information retrieved from other sources and vehicles will be needed for safer future. 

5G will fuel these innovations – particularly as it is based on existing LTE infrastructure, which is widely deployed and has a growing global footprint.

Connected truck transport

5G-powered use-cases

Driver assistance

Buses and trucks with human drivers receive contextual information to improve efficiency. Real-time recommendations to drivers and passengers offer a compelling service at a lower operational cost with a reduced environmental impact.

Remote operation

Vehicles such as buses or trucks are autonomous, and supervised by off-board human operators or, in certain circumstances, remotely driven by human operators in remote operation centers.

Full automation

Vehicles are autonomous and supervised by software, such as an automated off-board operator.

Exploring platooning

Vehicle platooning can be semi- or fully automated, and is a concept to make greater fuel savings. It creates a convoy for vehicles to travel very close to each other, coordinating breaking and acceleration. This could increase road capacity and can help address commuting demands at peak hours.

For instance, dynamically adding driverless trucks into a route to meet passenger demand is an attractive and cost-efficient proposition for fleet operators. Ericsson is constantly evaluating different radio technologies that can be used for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, which will eventually evolve the LTE standard and allow 5G to play an important role in V2X (vehicle-to-everything).

Steering towards V2X

5G mobile networks will be a major enabler of auto industry transformation, and will have a relevant role to play for both V2V and V2I (vehicle to-infrastructure) communications. 

The next generation of intelligent transport systems (ITS) will combine both V2V and V2I, allowing vehicles to operate autonomously and be controlled and monitored from cloud-hosted software. Such systems may involve remote management of a fleet of vehicles, where a remote operator or an automated system is in control of all vehicles.

As LTE and 5G combine different connectivity paths using a common radio interface, the technologies can facilitate V2V, V2I and V2P (vehicle-to-pedestrian) communications:

  • V2V allows vehicles to exchange data directly, or via the network infrastructure as and when required
  • V2I enables communication to road side infrastructure, as well as cloud services for vehicles
  • With cellular LTE, V2P extends ITS services to handheld devices
"Ericsson is helping us shape the future of connectivity and technology leadership in mobility, broadband and cloud. We have a shared vision of a connected network for transport, and our latest project proves that the use of 5G networks creates new opportunities for transport."

- Henrik Henriksson, President and CEO Scania (2016-2021)

Time-critical communications

A 5G network can reliably transfer mission-critical data over long distances; for example, to remote traffic or vehicle operation centers. To guarantee this, we apply the concept of network slicing, ensuring traffic to and from the vehicle is isolated from other types of traffic.

Explore more about our collaboration with Scania

Ship cargo at the harbour

Ericsson joins Pathways Coalition

Ericsson, Scania and other innovative companies are driving the shift to accelerate decarbonisation.

MIT Decarbonization White Paper

MIT Technology Review Insights

The "Decarbonizing industries with connectivity & 5G” whitepaper evaluates how senior technology, business and renewable energy executives are leveraging cellular technology to achieve environmental sustainability as well as operational efficiency objectives.

Scania trucks

5G for Sustainable Transportation

Erik Ekudden is joined by Christian Levin, President and CEO at Scania Group where they discuss sustainable transportation and their joint commitment on combating climate change with new technology. 

Remote operation of vehicles with 5G

Remote operation of vehicles with 5G

In the near future it will be a common occurrence to see driverless buses on city streets. A key step towards introducing autonomously driven buses into the public transport system is the development of remote monitoring and control capabilities, which will help to ensure safety, the Ericsson Mobility Report describes.

Explore our other industry collaborations

Speeding truck on the road

Join Ericsson, Scania and the Royal Institute of Technology as they accelerate autonomous, connected transportation fueled by 5G. Learn more about this case here.

Drone flying

Ericsson and ABB are engineering robot remote control with haptics, enabling us to realistically 'touch' the virtual world for the first time. Learn more about this case here.

Laboratory

SKF, Chalmers University of Technology and Ericsson are launching the next Industrial Revolution, with the help of 5G and the Industrial Internet of Things. Learn more about this case here.

smartfactory

Ericsson factories in Sweden, Estonia and China are fast-tracking the introduction of a new generation smart manufacturing. Learn more about these cases here

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