Source: MathWorks Author: MathWorks

   With the rapid development of autonomous driving technology, collaborative communication between vehicles becomes more and more important. As a new vehicle communication technology, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) technology realizes the information exchange between vehicles and vehicles, vehicles and infrastructure through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-road collaboration (V2I), and effectively improves road traffic safety and efficiency. In V2X technology, cellular-based vehicle networking (Cellular V2X, referred to as C-V2X) relies on it

The popularization of V2X technology is accelerating, and the development prospect is broad

    As a key technology for intelligent connected vehicles, the development of V2X technology has gone through several key stages.

    The first wave of V2X was in 2018-2020, with the Release of 3GPP Release 15 and Release 16, V2X technology began to land on the market.
    Since BMW announced in 2022 that future models will be fully equipped with V2X as standard, the attention and application of V2X technology has increased, ushering in a second wave. The continuous evolution of 5G, especially the Release of Release 17 and Release 18, provides a higher speed, lower delay and more reliable communication foundation for V2X applications, and promotes the rapid development of V2X technology and the expansion of application scenarios, especially in traffic efficiency and safety-related applications. Such as the collection and sharing of traffic information, emergency electronic brake lights, left turn assistance, etc.
    It is worth mentioning that China is relatively ahead in the development of the V2X field. According to statistics, in 2023, the 5G standard allocation rate of the entire domestic new car is 7.5%, and the assembly rate of V2X is only 1%. These V2X applications for mass deployment of production vehicles include basic safety applications (such as forward collision warning, emergency electronic brake lights, left turn assistance, etc.) and the sharing of local hazard and traffic information.
    In the past two years, the state has introduced some favorable policies for V2X. For example, on September 27, 2023, the draft version 2024 of the China New Car Evaluation Regulation (C-NCAP) was released on the official website of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, including V2X for the first time in the evaluation scope. The V2X portion of the 2024 C-NCAP has been added to the ADAS section, and the description of the target vehicle (GVT) in the test program includes "C-V2X network communication capability." Therefore, in theory, all active safety testing can be implemented using V2X. In addition, the 20 pilot cities jointly released by the five major departments began the deployment of "vehicle road cloud integration", which will further promote the boarding of V2X.
    Although V2X technology mainly provides early warning and reminder functions, with the maturity of technology and policy support, V2X functions will become more and more rich, and the integration of bicycle intelligence will be more closely, and gradually participate in the decision-making process, becoming the "crutch" of bicycle intelligence.
    In terms of technology development, V2X will be combined with new technologies such as high precision mapping (HD Map) and vehicle-to-pedestrian (VRU) sensing after this year, and C-V2X is expected to be deployed on a large scale in more complex and advanced autonomous driving applications after 2026. Examples include sensor sharing, Cooperative Maneuvers, and dynamic intersection management.

V2X technology facilitates advanced autonomous driving

    In the complex traffic environment of the city, the camera recognition of autonomous vehicles can provide real-time information, but there are blind spots in obscured or complex road conditions (such as intersections), which cannot ensure accuracy. In contrast, V2X communication has the advantages of high real-time and immunity from occlusion, which can make up for the shortcomings of the former, and the high-quality signal provided by V2X is crucial for high-level autonomous driving at L3 level and above. For mid - to low-end vehicles, V2X can provide more basic driver assistance functions such as navigation and collision warning to improve driving safety.
    Therefore, V2X communication technology has become an important means to solve the limited range of bicycle sensors, and is also an important part of the realization of highly autonomous driving.
    However, when adding V2X functionality to existing smart driving software, developers face limitations in scene construction, traffic light setting, and the inability to automatically generate V2X messages from high-precision maps. This is due to the fact that existing simulation tools for autonomous driving test scenarios lack certain key features and rely on AD hoc and less automated solutions.
    As V2X technology continues to evolve, close collaboration between vehicle, road, and cloud will become particularly important. It is difficult for any party to complete the construction of the V2X system independently, and the cooperation of the industry has become a key force to promote the landing of this technology.
Just as Zero-beam technology, which plays an innovator and pioneer in the field of V2X production vehicle end applications, is enhancing the environmental perception and decision-making ability of autonomous vehicles through V2X technology, using real-time data exchange between vehicles and vehicles (V2V), vehicles and infrastructure (V2I), and vehicles and networks (V2N) to achieve over-the-horizon traffic information acquisition. This overcomes the limitations of traditional sensors in bad weather or obstructed sight. By integrating V2X communication modules, autonomous driving systems can predict and prevent potential traffic risks, optimize driving strategies, and improve road safety and traffic efficiency through collaborative decision-making between vehicles and between vehicles and traffic signal systems.

Optimize collision warning at urban intersections with V2X communication
    In the process of enhancing and accelerating autonomous driving, Zero-Beam Technology is supported by MathWorks products and technical services to efficiently develop collision warning simulation scenarios for vehicles at intersections. The intersection is a very typical scene of intelligent driving blind area, which can play the function of V2X blindness well. By using MathWorks Simulink test bed model and RoadRunner scenario simulation, Zero Beam Technology can simulate the complex situation including V2X system in the actual traffic environment, test each module of the autonomous driving system, ensure full verification of functions, and reduce risks in practical applications.

The image is quoted from MathWorks 2024 China Automotive Conference, using Simulink test bench and RoadRunner Scenario to jointly simulate intersection warning

    As a design, test and simulation tool for V2X functions in the autonomous driving fusion scenario, RoadRunner is mainly used to create static and dynamic scenes, such as complex road network, traffic signals, vehicles, pedestrians and other environmental elements. RoadRunner itself can support the import and export of different high-precision maps. Building on this foundation, MathWorks and Zero Beam developed several new features for V2X based intelligent connected vehicle applications, including automated processing based on high-definition map information, configuration and interaction of traffic light timing signals, and more. RoadRunner provides a useful tool to automatically generate maps and SPaT messages from HD maps, greatly improving the efficiency of SIL (software-in-the-loop) testing. When the industrial computer equipped with the RoadRunner SIL test environment is connected to the test instrument, automated HIL testing can be performed.
    In this system, Simulink is responsible for the calculation and control of intelligent driving functions and produces output results based on inputs. Through information exchange between Simulink and RoadRunner, the simulation environment can interact with the actual algorithm to simulate the dynamic behavior and decision-making process of the vehicle.

Image quoted from: MathWorks 2024 China Automotive Conference

    In addition, the two parties are focusing on the development of traffic-light related features, specifically on how V2X communications interact with the timing signals of traffic lights. Through these developments, vehicles can know in advance the status of traffic lights at the intersection ahead, so that they can take appropriate measures in time.
    The collaboration between Zero Beam Technology and MathWorks brings the following technological innovations and industry benefits:
    Accuracy of simulation and testing: The V2X platform was developed using MATLAB and Simulink to make the simulation and testing process more accurate.
    - Efficient function development: RoadRunner provides high-precision map information extraction and processing functions, supporting the automatic generation of map messages in V2X applications. This simulation capability helps development teams test the performance and security of V2X systems in a virtual environment, thereby increasing development efficiency and reducing the time and cost required for physical testing.
    Reduce costs and improve safety: V2X technology enhances the interaction between vehicles and infrastructure through real-time communication, providing increased security. For example, with V2X technology, vehicles can obtain the status of intersection signals in advance, thereby optimizing decisions and reducing the probability of accidents. At the same time, the integration of V2X technology makes it possible to implement effective driving assistance functions on low-cost hardware, making the popularization of advanced functions more economical.
    - Facilitating technology iteration and adoption: Simulation and modeling tools such as MATLAB and Simulink help development teams better understand and implement complex V2X functions, such as traffic light control and vehicle-to-vehicle instant communication, which are advancing the technology level across the industry.

Conclusion
    The collaboration between MathWorks and Zero-Beam Technologies leverages their respective strengths to create an efficient and reliable V2X simulation platform for intersection collision prediction. The platform not only provides important support for the development and implementation of V2X technology, but also lays a solid foundation for the popularization of intelligent driving. Looking ahead, with falling hardware costs and increased policy support, the market penetration of V2X technology will increase significantly in 2025 and the three to five years after that, so let's wait and see.

About MathWorks
    MathWorks is the world's leading developer of mathematical computing software. The company's MATLAB, known as "the language of scientists and engineers," is a programming environment that integrates algorithm development, data analysis, visualization and numerical computation. Simulink is a modular modeling environment for simulation and model-based design of multi-domain and embedded engineering systems. These products serve engineers and scientists around the world, helping them accelerate the pace of invention, innovation and development in the automotive, aerospace, communications, electronics, industrial automation and other industries. MATLAB and Simulink products are essential teaching and research tools for many of the world's top universities and academic institutions. MathWorks was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA, with more than 6,000 employees in 34 locations worldwide.