Automotive LiDAR performance verification in fog and rain

This article focuses on testing and investigating further development needs for LiDARs in self-driving cars in adverse weather. The article compares two different LiDARs (Ibeo Lux and Velodyne PUCK), which both use the 905 nm wavelengths, which are used in more than 95% of currently available LiDARs. The performance was tested and estimated in stabilized fog conditions at Cerema fog chamber facilities. This provides a good basis for repeating the same validation procedure multiple times and ensuring the right development decisions. However, performance of the LiDARs suffers when the weather conditions become adverse and visibility range decreases. A 50% reduction in target detection performance was observed over the exhaustive tests. Therefore, changing to higher wavelengths (1550 nm) was considered using redesigned 'pre-prototype LiDAR'. The preliminary results indicate that there is no reason to not use 1550 nm wavelength, which due to eye safety regulations gives an opportunity to use 20 times more power compared to the traditional 905 nm. In order to clarify the expected benefits, additional feasibility studies are still needed

Piloting of 5G and satellite communications for road safety services

5G networks offer low latency and increased bandwidth, compared to 4G networks, and hence are very interesting for time critical services, such as road safety. The Celtic-Next 5G-SAFE-PLUS project is researching how 5G technologies and related enablers, such as multi-access edge computing (MEC), can be used for improving road safety. Furthermore, especially in remote and rural areas, hybrid communications, using both 5G and satellite communications, can provide continuous network coverage for delivering road safety services. This paper describes the progress done during the project in the development and evaluation of 5G-enabled services for road weather and safety in the context of two use cases