One of the worst places to get a flat tire is driving along East County canyons or deserted spots in Borrego Springs. With no cell service, many find themselves stranded with their thumbs up on the side of the road.
Qualcomm and Viasat aim to make that problem obsolete by improving “vehicle-to-everything” connectivity, ensuring service even when you’re out of range.
The two San Diego companies — in partnership with Verizon, Volkswagen, Audi and other automotive leaders — gathered around an idled BMW last week in Sacramento to demonstrate this advancement in how cars communicate.
“We put a bunch of people in the car, and they acted like they were in an emergency,” said Kevin Cohen, vice president of strategic partnerships and business development at Viasat. Qualcomm chipsets integrated in a BMW demo vehicle connected to Viasat satellites to carry out the emergency call.
“When you press that button, the car sends your location, connects you to an operator and they can send a tow truck, ambulance or fire truck,” Cohen explained.
Traditionally, cars only connect to terrestrial cell towers. But by utilizing towers both on the ground and in space, cars with this new technology will always be connected.
“It was just a surprise to hear how good the voice quality was coming from the car to the phone and vice versa,” said Cohen.
The vehicle-to-everything technology will integrate more than out-of-range emergency calls. It will also enhance tolling payment systems, explained Vince Park, senior director of technical standards at Qualcomm.
Paying a toll, receiving warnings or staying connected in remote areas happens automatically and in real time as cars will be able to communicate directly with toll systems and other traffic infrastructure, thereby reducing the need for manual image review, violations processing, invoicing, and collections from video tolling, Park said.
“You’re never out of range,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst for iSeeCars.com, a data-driven car search and research platform. “The chance that you can drive your car and not have people know exactly where you are and how fast you’re driving, that’s gone. But if you get in trouble, they’ll be able to come out and help.”
Earlier versions of this technology were announced in 2018 by Qualcomm and showed how integrating advanced semiconductors can level up cars by adding collusion avoidance and emergency brake alerts.
Since then, Qualcomm has increased its stake in the auto industry. In June, the tech giant acquired Autotalks, an Israeli “vehicle-to-everything” chipmaker for just under $100 million.
While the demonstration shows the technology is ready, timelines for putting it into production vehicles will vary by automaker as they adopt new 5G standards and satellite-enabled chipsets over the coming years.
“These companies want to be able to say, ‘We’re going to service and take care of you no matter where you are,’” said Brauer. “So when you call for help, someone will always hear you.”