Smart Mobility Tests Drive Singapore Closer to Smart City of the Future

Last year, NXP and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore launched an innovation hub for secure connected cars and intelligent transport systems. Dubbed the ‘Smart Mobility Test Bed,’ the focus was to accelerate the introduction of life-saving vehicle-to-car and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. The four-year $22 million program tests emerging technology that allows vehicles to “talk” to each other and to road infrastructure such as traffic signals.

Progress paves the way
Fast forward one year. Key technology behind the test bed, IEEE 802.11p automotive wireless standard used for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications – coupled with video surveillance – covers 75 percent of NTU’s roughly 200-hectacre campus. Data and control centers are in operation.

Smart mobility in action
Twelve use cases of smart mobility have been deployed to illustrate the impacts technology can make in road safety, traffic management and enhanced travelling experiences.

Smart Mobility Consortium expands
NXP and NTU invited other high-tech companies, institutes and government agencies to join forces and build a Smart Mobility Consortium aimed at researching and testing secure, smart connectivity and mobility solutions that can improve the traffic flow in inner cities, avoid road accidents and enhance the mobility experience. Plans involve installing further technologies on the campus to simulate the future smart city.

The morning session was wrapped up by the presentation of a highly debated topic “Why 802.11p beats LTE and 5G in V2X” by Dr. Alessio Filippi.

Since last year eight organizations, including Carclub Singapore, Chemtronics, Denso, Hong Kong ASTRI, IHI, Panasonic, Redhat and Zebra, have joined the consortium.

To mark these milestones, an Industry Partnership Showcase event was held, participation of more than 130 guests from 40 private and public organizations. The event was started with keynote speeches from NTU, NXP and Singapore Land Transport Authority. Several consortium partners also led discussions.

Wireless communication technologies like secure V2X offer significant benefits, saving lives by avoiding road accidents as well as limiting congestion, travel time and CO₂ emissions. Joint initiatives with leading industry partners provide opportunities to make the secure, smart connected city a reality sooner — and bring cities to the forefront of smart mobility innovation.