V2X

Transportation today faces a multi-dimensional problem. Key stakeholders, whether governmental agencies, traffic operation owners, automakers, or the industry are under constant pressure to deliver innovative ways to make transportation safer, more environmentally friendly, more efficient for people and goods, and a more enjoyable experience for the end user.

Striving to achieve these goals has been at the focus of the industry and led to groundbreaking technologies that are used in today’s vehicles: lidars, radars, cameras, ultrasound... A common property of these sensors is that operate only in situations in which other vehicles are within line of sight. Additionally, some of them see their performance decline in adverse weather conditions with poor visibility, or are limited in range.

It becomes obvious that vehicles need to be equipped with another technology to safely enable advanced automotive applications. V2X is a technology that has been designed from day one to address the aforementioned challenges, which makes it the ideal technology to complete the puzzle.

V2X stands for Vehicle-to-Everything. The X in V2X can be anything that helps your car get you and your co-passengers to your destination safely, efficiently, and comfortably. The X could be another vehicle, making your vehicle communicate with another vehicle; it could be roadside infrastructure, making your vehicle communicate with infrastructure; or it could be a pedestrian, a motorbike, and so on.

The information exchanged may indicate that the driver behind you is about to overtake you or that a person is approaching the crossing just ahead of you. Information about a nearby accident might help to redirect traffic to avoid a traffic jam. Either way, it helps make your life as a driver easier and more secure.

The environment will also benefit as traffic flow is optimized as a result of assistance for overtaking maneuvers and regulated traffic lights, street signage, and intersection alerts, which all improve fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.

The underlying communication technology enabling V2X is based on IEEE 802.11p, which defines enhancements to traditional Wi‑Fi, optimizing for low‑latency, non‑line‑of‑sight, and long‑distance connectivity.

V2X incorporates a sophisticated security and verification framework to keep away malicious attackers while at the same time coping with the demanding latency constraints required by the applications it enables.

For decades, u-blox has been a supplier of innovative positioning and wireless connectivity products.

The UBX‑P3 series is a V2X chip family based entirely on u-blox’s own core technology, automotive grade, and compliant with both WAVE and ETSI ITS standards for operation in the USA and Europe.