Networked autonomous vehicles will need to exchange and combine a wide variety of sensor information, kinematic data, and maneuver information so that they can make cooperative decisions in difficult traffic situations. To achieve this, highly reliable low latency radio links are required. Against this background, the AIT, Austrian Institute of Technology has started the 5G research project Marconi together with Nokia Solutions and Networks Austria GmbH, as well as AVL List GmbH . The project will be funded by the ICT of the Future program of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).

The radio wave propagation necessary for 5G will be investigated as part of Marconi by 2020, in particular at the edge, as well as new simulation models and radio systems for industry and autonomous vehicles. The research project focuses on the development of multiple antenna systems with up to 100 antenna elements for vehicle communication. This approach should allow a significant reduction in transmission power with constant transmission quality. In autonomous vehicle traffic, this will significantly improve traffic safety according to the researchers.