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5G networks enable automated control of train traffic

Key tasks for ensuring railway safety have been performed automatically using fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks. The trial forms part of a Europe-wide scheme to test the feasibility of automating transport.
  1. Toktam Mahmoodi

    1. Toktam Mahmoodi is at the Centre for Telecommunications Research, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.

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The ability to drive a car can be useful when travelling abroad, but it doesn’t necessarily equip a driver with the knowledge required to navigate foreign roads and follow regulations. Autonomous vehicles suffer no such culture shock, and could make it easier to get around in a foreign country. The fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) provides the sort of connectivity and flexibility needed for safe autonomous driving. Writing in IEEE Access, Corujo et al.1 put 5G to the test of managing the control signals used in railway operations — a step towards 5G-run automation in the broader transport sector.

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Nature 617, 474-475 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01401-6

References

  1. Corujo, D. et al. IEEE Access 11, 15348–15363 (2023).

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  2. GSM Association. An Introduction to Network Slicing (GSMA, 2017).

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  3. Fallgren, M. et al. IEEE Vehicular Technol. Mag. 13, 28–38 (2018).

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  4. Smith, P. et al. NGMN Overview on 5G RAN Functional Decomposition (ed. MacKenzie, R.) (NGMN Alliance, 2018).

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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