For any unaware (as I admittedly was, given I live in Indiana and don’t travel as often as I’d like), there are tons of lovely views, restaurants, entertainment and more to see if you find yourself strolling along the waterfront in Jacksonville, Florida. (And there’s the beautiful Riverfront Plaza, as well; formerly The Jacksonville Landing.)
But what if — when visitors find themselves there next year — they aren’t strolling, per se.
Rather, what if they’re riding autonomous shuttles (i.e. autonomous vehicles, or AVs) that transport them along a three-mile stretch to a new Jacksonville waterfront hub?
That’s the goal of a new project, being made reality by collaboration between T-Mobile and Jacksonville’s own Miller Electric Company.
Here’s the scoop:
Jacksonville-based Miller Electric Company will use a 5G private network from T-Mobile’s Advanced Network Solutions (ANS) to support the operations of a new fleet of bus-shaped, fully autonomous shuttles. How it works is simple — T-Mobile’s 5G private network connection will deliver highly secure, reliable two-way communications between the aforementioned shuttles and the shuttle command center. (This includes real-time telemetry data from onboard sensors as well as audio and video feeds to connect employees with passengers.)
Furthermore, this smart network is set to be built alongside the already planned power and fiber solutions that make the rest of the waterfront project possible. This means that T-Mobile can deliver the network performance and security that Miller Electric requires for the AVs into the future without any additional infrastructure.
“5G connectivity provides the highest-possible bandwidth and lowest latency communication between our AVs and the control center,” explained Craig Bowman, Director of Technology at Miller Electric. “This turnkey solution will enable the vehicles to navigate the streets alongside other vehicle traffic, and will ensure the bandwidth we need is available to stream real-time video surveillance and two-way audio and video communications.”
“5G is the key that will unlock the autonomous vehicle future that science fiction has teased us with for years,” added Mishka Dehghan, SVP of Strategy, Product, and Solutions Engineering, T-Mobile Business Group. “Because T-Mobile 5G offers the flexibility to build dynamic solutions like a 5G private network, our customers can actually build the future they envision, not just imagine it. I’m excited to see how this solution will support a thriving urban corridor and give visitors of Jacksonville convenient and futuristic transportation options.”
Learn more about this ongoing project in Jacksonville here.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
