Continental, DT, Fraunhofer ESK Institute, Nokia project for connected car won the top award in the best-practice competition of the Intelligent Networking Initiative

• Initiative organized by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy honors best-practice solutions for intelligent networking
• Top spot for “Real-Time Communication between vehicles via the LTE Mobile Network”
• Project aim: to improve road safety and prevent traffic jams through mobile technology

Hanover, Germany, 18-Mar-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — The “Real-Time Communication between vehicles via the LTE Mobile Network” project jointly launched by Continental, Deutsche Telekom, the Fraunhofer ESK Institute, and Nokia on the A9 motorway in Germany has won the top award in the best-practice competition of the Intelligent Networking Initiative in the “Traffic” category. All award winners were honored during Cebit 2016 by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Intelligent Networking Initiative.

The competition winners were decided by a jury of experts in digitization from the German National IT Summit, the Intelligent Networking Initiative, and the Open Innovation Community. “With the ‘Applications on the A9 Digital Test Track’ project, we are especially delighted to honor a partnership of telecommunication companies, the automotive industry, and research. Broad and transparent dialog is a core element of the Intelligent Networking Initiative, and the project is a real-life example of how cross-industry cooperation is contributing to the success of digitization in Germany,” said Thilo Zelt, head of the Intelligent Networking Initiative.

Pooling expertise for safe driving and real-time communication

In this award-winning joint project, vehicles traveling on the digital test track – the A9 Autobahn – share hazard information via the LTE mobile network. This is accomplished by the use of technology, to be defined by the global, 5G communication standard. For the first time, communication takes place virtually in real time because the signal latency between two vehicles is reduced to less than 20 milliseconds through the use of plug-in modules – or “cloudlets” – installed at the LTE base stations.

By pooling their core competencies, the project partners have demonstrated how large-scale, real-time communication between vehicles and infrastructure could look in the future. The LTE mobile technology was developed by Nokia and the network constructed by Deutsche Telekom. Nokia contributed the “cloudlets” using Mobile-Edge Computing technology, which, in combination with the position-locating technology developed by Fraunhofer ESK, ensures rapid data transmission. The vehicle electronics interface developed by Continental allows the implementation of a range of applications, designed to make driving safer and more comfortable.

Statement by Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, CTO, Deutsche Telekom:

“The development of 5G technology has reached an exciting phase globally. We’re not just talking about it – we’re trialing it, too. Our joint project demonstrates how driving can be made much safer. This is all possible thanks to an intelligent infrastructure that adapts itself in line with people’s needs and, in this case, allows an extremely long time in which to react, and helps to prevent hazardous situations.”

Statement by Frank Försterling, Head of Sales and Portfolio for Interior Electronics Solutions, in the Interior Division at Continental:

“Receiving this award for best-practice solution in the Traffic sector strengthens our resolve to continue developing intelligent mobility of the future. From the point of view of Continental, the internet actually improves the vehicle because real-time communication among road users with other vehicles and the infrastructure enhances safety, comfort, and efficiency on the roads.”

Statement by Markus Borchert, Senior Vice President, Market Europe, Nokia Networks:

“We are convinced that intelligent mobile network technology can help to ensure that the number of traffic accidents will decrease in the future and that driving will be safer. Mobile Edge Computing as the technological core of our project brings cloud computing to the road, accelerates the communication between drivers and vehicles and provides the blueprint for the development of 5G networks. The success of the project honored with this award strengthens our strong belief that mobile technology is an important element for safe and connected driving.”

Statement by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rudi Knorr, director of the Fraunhofer ESK institute:

“An important step into the future of digital mobility is the ability to link physical vehicles with the digital data environment, which offers new opportunities and challenges. The next step now is to realize new application scenarios for networked driving thanks to seamless and reliable communication concepts over longer sections of the Autobahn. This award for our project is testament to successful collaboration between companies in the telecommunications, automotive, and IT sectors with the support of applied research conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute.”

Partnership set to continue on upcoming project

With a follow-up project focusing on vehicle networking, Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Fraunhofer ESK, Nokia, and, for the first time, the management and IT-consultancy MHP – A Porsche Company – are planning to continue this award-winning partnership. Olaf Kleindienst, Associated Partner at MHP: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring our many years of experience in the automotive industry to the table in order to expand the market for networked and intelligent mobility and develop initial business models.” Under the title “Road Safety Applications Based on Vehicle Communication via LTE and Mobile-Edge Computing (MEC)”, the project partners are aiming to draft, develop and test further applications on the already established A9 Autobahn test track in order to contribute the positioning of Germany as a pioneer and market leader in the field of intelligent mobility and automated driving.

Continental develops intelligent technologies for transporting people and their goods. As a reliable partner, the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner provides sustainable, safe, comfortable, individual, and affordable solutions. In 2015, the corporation generated preliminary sales of approximately €39.2 billion with its five divisions, Chassis & Safety, Interior, Powertrain, Tires, and ContiTech. Continental employs more than 208,000 people in 53 countries.

Information management in and beyond the vehicle is at the very heart of the Interior division. The product portfolio for different types of vehicles includes: instrument clusters, multifunctional and head-up displays, control units, access control and tire-information systems, radios, infotainment systems, input devices, control panels, climate control units, software, cockpits as well as services and solutions for telematics and Intelligent Transportation Systems. The Interior division employs more than 36,000 people worldwide and generated sales of approximately €7 billion in 2014.

About Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with around 151 million mobile customers, 30 million fixed-network lines and more than 17 million broadband lines (as of December 31, 2014). The Group provides fixed network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in more than 50 countries and has approximately 228,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 62.7 billion in the 2014 financial year – more than 60 percent of it outside Germany.

About Fraunhofer ESK
Fraunhofer Institute for Embedded Systems and Communication Technologies ESK undertakes applied research geared toward new information and communication technology (ICT) processes and methods. The engineering expertise of five core competencies is bundled across the Automotive, Industrial Communication and Telecommunication business units: Wired Transmission Technologies, Wireless Networks, Reliable Ethernet/IP Communication, Adaptive System and Dependable Software.

About MHP
MHP – A Porsche Company is a leading consultancy – primarily for the automotive industry – and a subsidiary of Porsche AG (81.8%). The unique MHP approach to consulting is based on the symbiosis of management and IT consulting services.  MHP, as a process supplier, optimizes customer processes throughout the value chain with its expert services in the fields of Management Consulting, System Integration, Application Management and Business Solutions. At present, more than 1,500 employees serve more than 300 customers world-wide out of 13 locations in Germany (Ludwigsburg (2), Munich, Frankfurt am Main,  Nuremberg, Essen, Wolfsburg, Berlin), Switzerland (Zurich/Regensdorf), the UK (Birmingham), the US (Atlanta), China (Shanghai), and Romania (Cluj-Napoca).
The MHP philosophy: Excellence.
MHP – Excellence in Management and IT Consulting for Automotive.
www.mhp.com

About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in the technologies that connect people and things. Powered by the innovation of Bell Labs and Nokia Technologies, the company is at the forefront of creating and licensing the technologies that are increasingly at the heart of our connected lives.

With state-of-the-art software, hardware and services for any type of network, Nokia is uniquely positioned to help communication service providers, governments, and large enterprises deliver on the promise of 5G, the Cloud and the Internet of Things. http://nokia.com

Contacts for journalists

Continental
Externe Kommunikation Interior Division
Sebastian Fillenberg
Sodener Straße 9
65824 Schwalbach am Taunus
Phone: +49 6196 87-3709
sebastian.fillenberg@continental-corporation.com

Deutsche Telekom AG
Christian Fischer
Corporate Communications
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 140
53113 Bonn
Phone: +49 228 181-94463
christian.fischer03@telekom.de

Fraunhofer-Institut für Eingebettete Systeme und Kommunikationstechnik ESK
Hans-Thomas Hengl
PR-Referent Automotive, Telecommunication
Hansastraße 32
80686 München
Phone: +49 89 547088-396
hans-thomas.hengl@esk.fraunhofer.de

Nokia
Bernhard Fuckert
Communications
St.-Martin-Straße 76
81541 München
Phone: +49 162 2836967
bernhard.fuckert@nokia.com