A batch of key self-driving car-enabling products have now passed tests to meet European guidelines, Qualcomm has announced.
Multiple ‘Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything’, or C-V2X, products passed certification standards set out by the European Radio Equipment Directive and the European Telecommunication Standardisation Institute. The news could be a huge step towards self-driving cars in Europe.
Field tests in China and the US have shown that self-driving cars are a reality, rather than a futuristic fantasy.
However, there has been some debate as to quite how safe and practical that reality is. Accidents involving self-driving cars have led to questions and the EU hopes that its stringent regulations and standards, now passed by the products in question here, will make self-driving tech safe.
A stepping up of the efforts around self-driving cars is no great surprise. Elon Musk told us we’d have Tesla self-driving cars available in 2018 and, obviously, that didn’t happen. As Vox recently reminded us, a huge amount of companies and publications told us that 2020 would be the year of the self driving car, with millions already on the roads.
Guess what – it isn’t.
A driverless car infamously killed Elaine Herzberg in Arizona in 2018 and the technology, understandably, has faced massive setbacks since in terms of bringing driverless cars to market since.
However, this tech getting signed off by EU bodies could be significant. It shows that we’re moving closer to safe, practical driverless tech.
We’ve already got access to products like the Tesla Model S, that can help users with the basics of motorway driving, but how long until a fully driverless car comes to market? Only time will tell, but this news could reduce the wait.
Brands like Savari, Commsignia and Ficosa are attempting to pave the way in the self-driving car industry. All of their products, at present, use Qualcomm chipsets.
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The following products, all of which feature the Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset solution, have achieved RED certification:
· Commsignia On-Board Unit (OBU)
· Commsignia Roadside Unit (RSU)
· Ficosa OBU
· Kapsch RSU
· Savari® MobiWAVE® 2000 OBU
· Savari® StreetWAVE® SW2000 RSU
· WNC module
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
