5G HarmoniseD Research and TrIals for serVice Evolution between EU and China

Project Information

5G-DRIVE

Grant agreement ID: 814956

DOI

10.3030/814956

Project closed

EC signature date 28 June 2018

Start date 1 September 2018

End date 30 June 2021

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 6 007 128,28

EU contribution

€ 5 999 130,00

Coordinated by

EURESCOM-EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND STRATEGIC STUDIES IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS GMBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - 5G-DRIVE (5G HarmoniseD Research and TrIals for serVice Evolution between EU and China)

Reporting period: 2020-03-01 to 2021-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The main objective of 5G-DRIVE is to conduct joint 5G trials and research activities with the Chinese twin project “5G Large-scale Trial” led by China Mobile to facilitate 5G technology convergence, spectrum harmonisation and business innovation between Europe and China. 5G-DRIVE addresses this objective in three pillars. The first pillar tests and demonstrates latest 5G eMBB and C-V2X technologies in various use scenarios. 5G-DRIVE has carried out extensive 5G NSA/SA and C-V2X tests in trial sites in UK, Finland, Italy, Poland, and China. The joint trials of two projects have evaluated key system performances and provided recommendations for technology and spectrum harmonization. The second pillar focuses on 5G key research innovations. Extensive research has been done on massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), network slicing, AI for resource allocation, 5G transport network, edge computing, V2X security, etc, with the aim to fill the gaps between standards and real-world implementation. The third pillar promotes EU-China 5G collaboration at various levels through extensive dissemination and exploitation activities.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has successfully conducted eMBB and V2X trials planned by the project. The eMBB trials have been done in three trial sites. In addition to University of Surrey and VTT’s trial site, eMBB key performance evaluations were also done by Orange’s 5G networks at Warsaw, Poland. eMBB trials include outdoor driving test, stationary measurements, and indoor coverage measurements. The C-V2X trials have been done in VTT and JRC’s trial sites. Two V2X use cases, i.e. GLOSA and intersection collision avoidance, have been evaluated. The key performance of latency, delay jitter, packet error rate in the V2X use cases has been extensively studied in two V2X trial sites. In addition, the coexistence of two V2X technologies, i.e. LTE-V2X and ITS-G5, and two V2X related security problems have been tested and analysed.

In addition to the trial activities, the project has worked on more than 10 research topics related to 5G, including massive MIMO, network slicing, AI based traffic offloading, MEC, edge caching, RAN transport, and vehicle network security, etc. The results are reported in the final deliverables of WP3-5 and scientific publications. Thanks to the cooperation with the Chinese twin project, the project could compare the theoretic results of massive MIMO derived from the project with the real measurements from the Chinese twin project.

5G-DRIVE has performed 5G and C-V2X trials jointly with a Chinese twin project. The two projects collaborated closely and have achieved concrete results. 5G-DRIVE partners visited China Mobile’s eMBB trial site at Hangzhou several times and made a series of 5G NSA/SA tests with Chinese partners. 5G-DRIVE conducted similar tests under the project’s own 5G test networks. Both projects also performed LTE-V2X trials under agreed use cases. The eMBB and LTE-V2X results of the two projects have been analysed and compared.

5G-DRIVE has also achieved excellent dissemination results. The project has led two IEEE ICC workshops, two 5G World Forum workshops, one dedicated SME workshop, and organized a couple of joint workshops with other 5G projects. The project has presented in multiple global events, including Global 5G Events, WIOT, EuCNC, 5G Summit, 5G Core Summit, and ITS congress. The eMBB and V2X video demos have been showed in 5G Summit, EuCNC, and ITS congress. The project has published over 30 scientific publications in well-known journals, magazine, and conferences.

5G-DRIVE participated in standardisation activities and has made significant standard contributions to ETSI, ITU and ISO. Seven technical contributions have been adopted by ETSI EN 302 571. The project partners have led the study on deployment of IPv6-based vehicular networking and completed an ETSI technical report.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

5G-DRIVE targets the following impacts:
• Holistic 5G networks implementations based on the latest 5G innovations and evaluated in two prominent usage scenarios.
• 5G RAN for the specified bands validated in real world environments.
• Global interoperability demonstrations for 5G networks.
• Joint contributions to global 5G standards specifications in relevant organisations.
• Successful showcasing events with, ideally, joint demonstration across regions.
• New or reinforced cooperation between 5G R&I stakeholders from EU and China, with a focus on private companies.

The project has achieved significant outcomes related to these impacts. The project has successfully conducted the eMBB and V2X trials in 5 trial sites (Guildford, Espoo, Ispra, Tampere and Warsaw). In addition, joint eMBB trials were conducted in the Chinese trial site. The key performance of 5G NSA and SA, and LTE-V2X under various use cases have been evaluated. 5G and C-V2X innovations, including massive MIMO, network slicing, MEC, edge caching, 5G RAN transport, V2X coexistence, etc, have been studied. These results have been widely disseminated through 5G events, workshops, and publications. 5G-DRIVE has made standard contributions to ETSI, ITU-R, and ISO. Before the pandemic, the project has organized events in Shanghai and Dresden. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the showcasing events. However, the project organized online events to showcase the collaboration and project results. The eMBB and V2X demos were shown through online videos. The project actively uses social media channels to promote 5G cooperation. Both projects have met three times face-to-face, where the companies from both sides, including tier-1 vendors, mobile operators, car manufacturer, and SMEs participated.

5G-DRIVE aimed to create impacts also related to 5G PPP KPIs, including the leveraging of EU funding in terms of private investment in R&D for 5G systems, regarding 20% SME participation, and for reaching a global market share for 5G equipment & services delivered by European head-quartered companies. 5G-DRIVE has taken efforts to promote these KPIs through its dissemination and exploitation activities. In addition, collaborations have been established with other vendors, operators, SMEs through joint trial activities supported by other national and EU 5G projects. Through these joint activities, R&D and private investment on 5G are promoted. 5G-DRIVE had also a significant SME participation: Among 17 partners 6 were SMEs, which presents 35% of consortium partnership.

5G-DRIVE has also targeted environmental and societal impacts and in that respect has conducted research on new services, energy efficiency and security topics. Energy consumption of 5G slicing has been analysed. The security and privacy were addressed under vehicle networks. Seven 5G and V2X services were analysed. 5G-DRIVE created impact on European competence through 5G and V2X trials and standardization activities. The project has made remarkable contributions to ETSI. 5G-DRIVE has also cooperated with other projects to improve the test facilities, network deployment, and network performance. The cooperation with the Chinese twin project allowed for information sharing between EU and China. The test methodologies, network configuration and optimization methods will help improving 5G test networks and give value for future trialling activities.

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