Spoke & Qualcomm Technologies to enhance safety for Vulnerable Road Users

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Spoke, a mobility platform for safety and connectivity has announced plans to bring connected technology to vulnerable road users (VRUs), including cyclists and scooter riders, using  Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything   (C-V2X)   solutions   from   Qualcomm Technologies.

A  first-of-its-kind,  the  Spoke  hardware  and  software  systems,  which  features the C-V2X solutions, is designed to be the industry’s first reliable, robust connected system to offer  secure,  direct  communication  for  contextual  awareness  and  alerts  between  drivers  and riders, enhancing safety for VRUs.

Engineered previously for the automotive sector, Spoke’s new solution  is  intended  to  provide  direct  communication between  road  users,  vehicles  and roadside  infrastructure  without  the  need  for  a  cellular network,   delivering   the   level   of   dependable   real-time   information   critical   for   safety applications.

This capability provides critical augmentation to other Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensors, such as cameras, radar, and Light Detection and Radar (LIDAR).

“This is game-changing connectivity for both safety and for the mobility experience overall,” said Jarrett Wendt, Spoke CEO. “For the first time, Spoke will provide dedicated hardware and software,  what  we  refer  to  as  vulnerable  road  user-to-everything  (VRU2X),  to  unlock  V2X communication to the most vulnerable users. VRU2X unlocks location accuracy through direct digital  communication  that  connects  all  users  anonymously  to  each  other  and  to  the infrastructure.” C-V2X  is  uniquely  designed  to  offer  highly  reliable,  low-latency  direct  communication between VRUs, vehicles and roadside infrastructure in the 5.9 GHz ITS spectrum without reliance on  cellular  networks.

C-V2X  can  provide  highly  reliable,  low-latency broadcast  to  support advanced safety use cases and enhanced vehicle automation. C-V2X is  also globally compatible with  5G  networks  and  cloud-based  APIs,  enabling  numerous  capabilities  with  artificial intelligence/machine learning to enhance safety features. C V2X  direct  communication  is  an  essential  technology  for  safety  and  mobility  applications, helping to reduce crashes and incident-related congestion for more efficient traffic flow.

Spoke is working with a number of stakeholders, including Qualcomm Technologies and vehicle, bicycle, scooter and motorcycle OEMs, for maximum scale, adoption and safety impact. Spoke’s portfolio, which will also include modem-based communications, will be launching with their OEM bicycle, motorcycle and scooter partners in 2022.