Ford said it had successfully conducted its first tests of Cellular Vehicle To Everything (C-V2X) technology on public roads in China, as part of an ongoing pilot project in Wuxi, Jiangsu.
The company showed off its C-V2X work during live demonstrations as part of the 2018 World Internet of Things Expo running in Wuxi between 15 September and today.
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Ford said the project is the of its kind in China, so is a "significant" milestone in the automaker's contribution to development of the technology which will help improve automotive safety, support traffic efficiency and enhance automated driving.
C-V2X is a wireless communications technology that allows vehicles, infrastructure, pedestrians and all 'traffic participants' to "speak the same language" in real time. It supplements vehicle sensors and enables vehicles, stoplights, traffic signs, cyclists and pedestrian devices to share information about their status, location and next move. The system can operate with or without a cellular network, which means alerts can be sent during critical moments when they are needed most.
Since May, Ford has conducted technical tests as part of Wuxi's LTE-V2X pilot project – said to be the first city level project of its kind performed on public roads – to assess the performance of C-V2X with the goal of seeing it adopted. LTE-V2X, along with the evolution from 4G to 5G, is the first phase of C-V2X.
