Automakers and telecom giants are joining forces to develop Car-to-X communications technology.

Audi AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG are working with telecom giants to develop the future of automotive communications.

German premium car manufacturers are forming a 5G automotive association with telecom giants to lead the rollout of Car-to-X communications technology.

While technological progress may seem like an individual achievement, translating autonomous mobility into wider and more ubiquitous applications will require a collective effort. That's why Audi AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG, along with telecom giants Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm, have teamed up to form the so-called "5G Automotive Association".

The association's ultimate goal is to accelerate the commercial availability and global market penetration of Car-to-X communications technology. At the same time, the association will develop, test and promote communication solutions for vehicles and infrastructure. This also includes supporting technology standardization, engaging with regulators, obtaining certification and approval processes, and addressing technical issues such as security, privacy, and the spread of cloud computing. In addition, the association also plans to launch joint innovation and development projects with large-scale pilot programs and trial deployments.

With the advent of 5G mobile networks, automakers see the potential to deliver a car-to-everything communication technology, also known as Car-to-X.

This technology also allows cars to connect to the infrastructure to find free parking spaces.

As Audi's "swarm intelligence" emphasizes, this technology allows the vehicles themselves to communicate information about road hazards or changes in road conditions to each other. The technology also allows cars to connect to infrastructure to find empty parking spaces or even time them to traffic lights to arrive just as the light turns green.

In line with the transition to the Internet of Things, this technology has the potential to significantly improve safety and reduce or eliminate traffic congestion, as well as allow cars to integrate into urban infrastructure.

Widespread integration of such technology will allow autonomous vehicles to see far beyond the peripheral vision of their onboard sensors and cameras.

In fact, the system could enable such vehicles to avoid hazards, congested roads, and respond quickly to changing speeds and conditions far beyond.

Although Car-to-X technology has been around for many years, it has never been implemented into mainstream applications due to issues such as standardization, as well as technical challenges in meeting the required data loads.

Back in 2011, Continental AG demonstrated the potential of its Car-to-X technology, and while the hardware to make it all possible was available, its developers admit that the biggest hurdle to overcome is data transfer. They estimated that the amount of data transferred between one car and another or to another infrastructure was measured in megabytes. In combination with several such vehicles in the same area, the amount of data transferred can easily reach gigabytes.

The Association believes that these next generation telecommunications networks are capable of processing much more data with significantly lower latency and thus are able to reliably transfer data between sources and destinations.

Despite its association with three major German premium brands, the 5G Automotive Association says its doors are open to other automakers wishing to join their program. For now, the association is likely to focus on developing technology for the European market, although if their efforts are successful, it can be expected that the standards and technologies developed by this association will spread to other markets fairly quickly.