Background

The spread of COVID-19 accelerates the development of several emerging technologies, such as autonomous delivery vehicle. The fundamental cores of autonomous delivery vehicles are composed of sensing technology, AI and communication connectivity. An important step for the realization of intelligent and autonomous delivery vehicles is the interconnection which needs to build a data channel between the front-end vehicles and the management counter. 5G, the 5th generation mobile network, has features of high performance, high reliability, high speed and low latency which provides an excellent network for autonomous delivery vehicles.

5G for Autonomous Delivery Vehicles

According to SAE International, levels of driving automation are defined from Level 0 (no automation) to level 5 (full vehicle autonomy). Currently, most autonomous delivery vehicles can drive by themselves, but only under certain conditions and need an attentive human for an emergency. Thus, real-time communication between vehicles and the management center is essential to build up a safe delivery.

While integrated into the autonomous delivery vehicles, Milesight UR75-5G, an intelligent industrial IoT router, offers a reliable and stable 5G network and enhances the performance and safety of autonomous delivery vehicles.

The autonomous delivery vehicle can upload GPS positioning, component status, vehicle operation status, camera image and other data to the management center in real-time. The management center can collect and analyze these data, then issue instructions based on real-time data to make the autonomous delivery vehicle more intellectual.

When the autonomous delivery vehicle encounters a problem or stops for a long time, the technician can control the vehicle manually with real-time imaging. By leveraging the low latency feature of 5G, the technician can remotely drive the vehicle out of the obstacle section or solve the problem, then switch back to the driverless mode.

Benefits Brought by 5G

5G networks will deliver faster upload and download speeds and decreased latency, enhancing the real-time connection with the management center to improve functions and safety, such as automatic route planning, obstacle avoidance, self-parking and remote control. The development of 5G-enable unmanned vehicles and related technologies will accelerate the construction of  intelligent logistics systems.