Our next interview is with Institute of Communications and Computer Systems (ICCS) based in Athens. ICCS is leading the evaluation and dissemination related tasks on 5G-MOBIX, while they also participate in the project’s technical management team. They are working alongside Turkcell, COSMOTE, Ericsson Turkey and Greece, Tubitak Bilgem, Wings, and Ford Otosan on the Greek-Turkish Cross-border Corridor, developing the “See-what-I-see” CAM application which enables the exchange of live video stream between the vehicles of a truck platoon.

1. How is 5G-MOBIX important to ICCS’s own research strategy? What was the main reason for ICCS to join the consortium?

The 5G-MOBIX project was set up to assess the feasibility and value of supporting advanced CCAM applications in the challenging conditions shaped by a cross-border corridor environment where roaming presents significant challenges. Having a long and holistic research and innovation track-record in the automotive / ITS domain, ICCS believes the 5G-MOBIX objectives to be of vital importance for the future of the sector. Bringing together stakeholders from all over the globe with broader ecosystems, the project establishes a unique experimental environment offering an unprecedented opportunity for full-fledged experimentation. Leading the evaluation activities, ICCS has the opportunity to shape the solution assessment space but also to fuel its research activities on multiple fronts, including both the CCAM application layer, with the ICCS-lead “See-what-I-see” use case, and other ones with delayed evaluations in the areas of networking and edge computing. Following up the investigation of hybrid 4G/5G-ITS-G5 technologies in the context of the ICT4CART project, 5G-MOBIX activities act as a natural next step in the research strategy of ICCS, providing a first in-depth look on the benefits and challenges of a holistic 5G approach for the CCAM domain. At the same time, it paves the way for subsequent activities in the context of 5G-IANA and 5G-LOGINNOV projects.

2. What can you tell us about the 5G-MOBIX Greek-Turkish cross-border corridor? What makes this particular test site unique for the testing of 5G?

The Greek-Turkish CBC presents the unique characteristic of corresponding to a so-called “hard-border” where authority checks enforce a stop-and-go mobility model, which presents a different set of mobility related challenges. At the same time, it provides an environment for experimental evaluation of other types of applications related to the broader domain of 5G-enabled IoT and logistics e.g., in the form of customs inspection.

3. Can you give us updates about the latest trials? What are the status and latest developments on the CBC?

After extensive fine tuning and verification tests, the GR-TR corridor is ready to perform full-fledged trials in a series of interesting user stories including Track Platooning, See-What-I-See, Truck Routing and more. Trials will include various network configurations shedding light on technical aspects related to Home Routing / Local Break Out, inter-PLMN connectivity e.g., Leased Line vs. Internet based, and various handover schemes.

4. What are your next steps in the project?

The project is currently generating measurement data across all cross-border corridors and trial sites. In this context, ICCS fine-tunes the evaluation activities across the project ensuring the completeness of the evaluation scenarios, the generation of preliminary feedback to the trialing activities, and of course the extraction of global conclusions and recommendations. At the same time, the ICCS team leads the trailing activities of the See-What-I-See application.

5. How will ICCS use the results from the project? What are your plans to build upon these results for future initiatives?

As a research institute, ICCS is focused on the delivery of high-quality research results in the form of publications in prestigious conferences, journals, and magazines. This activity will include publications focusing on the ICCS supported See-What-I-See application, as well as coordinated project-wide publications focusing on the major conclusions and corresponding recommendations emerging from the extensive trials performed. As such, ICCS sets the ground for future large scale pilots and trials in the automotive and related domains e.g., logistics, in the context of the evolution of 5G towards 6G, but also in the context of the extended deployment of 5G across Europe TEN-T corridors.

The Greek-Turkish CBC public demonstrations are set to take place on 9-10 May 2022. Stay tuned for more details!