Novel networking paradigms are enabling the introduction of innovative vertical use cases and new business relations in the B5G/6G mobile ecosystem. For instance, a use case may require the coordination of domains owned by different operators to provide service continuity and keep offering a vertical network service (NS) in similar conditions after a cross-border situation. This demonstration presents a procedure to perform a proactive service relocation in such a multi-administrative domain scenario considering an automotive use case. This demonstration proposes a cloud-native solution combining multiple enablers to manage the life-cycle of virtualised automotive NSs. During run-time, and upon registration, an AI/ML-based enabler decides proactively on the service relocation moment based on the collected vehicle’s positions and triggers an Integration Fabric enabler following ETSI ZSM guidelines to start a new instance of such automotive NS at the associated ETSI NFV management and orchestration stack present in the neighbouring administrative domain.

5G is designed to offer reliable, low latency, and high bandwidth connectivity for different industry sectors. Yet, the limited 5G coverage and capacity in open sea areas pose challenges for maritime sector. Consequently, there is a shift from public 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks to private 5G standalone (SA) networks enabling more industry-tailored network configurations. In addition, new 5G features such as 5G Mobile Integrated Access and Backhaul (mIAB), Non-Public Network - Public Network (NPN-PN) interaction, and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) connectivity pave way to extend the 5G coverage and enhance capacity. This paper describes our lab testbed implementation and the insights we gained from the performance and challenges of a 5G multi-hop system in the context of maritime applications. The results indicate that the asymmetric 5G UL/DL ratio and increased latency due to overlay link management and signaling through multiple 5G RANs and 5G cores are areas for improvements. However, the experience obtained from the indoor tests has provided confidence to continue with the mobile multi-hop architecture for implementation in moving vehicles and vessels.

Advanced digital services, providing extensive information on road, weather and traffic conditions and enabled via 5G and other types of vehicular connectivity, can allow both human drivers and automated vehicles to manage better under challenging conditions; thus, improving road safety. The services can also enable better and more cost-efficient maintenance of the roads. This paper studies four different connected and automated vehicle (CAV) use cases, aiming at improving safety of the roads by utilizing cutting-edge communication, IoT, sensor fusion and cybersecurity technologies. The first pass analysis of the use cases and underlying architecture, conducted in the paper, will be extended towards real pilots and testing in future work.

Preventive safety functions help drivers avoid or mitigate accidents. No quantitative methods have been available to evaluate the safety impact of these systems. This paper describes a framework for the assessment of preventive and active safety functions, which integrates procedures for technical performance, human factors, and safety assessments in one holistic approach. The concept of situational control , which is defined as the degree of control that a joint driver–vehicle system exerts over a traffic situation, has been introduced. Assessment involves technical evaluation , which assesses that the system and all subsystems work according to the functional and technical specifications, human factors evaluation, which assesses the behavioral situational control parameters, and safety potential evaluation, which performs a detailed assessment of internal and external impact mechanisms that change the situational control at the traffic level. The methodology has been applied to the INSAFES project, which integrates lateral and longitudinal control functions.

Mechatronic systems consist of components from different technologies, like electronics, electro-mechanics and mechanics. Simulation allows to examine the interactions between the various components. This article describes how an affordable SPICE-based analog circuit simulator is used to model mechatronic systems. A schematic editor has been customised to ease model entry. A large multitechnical library, consisting of electrical, electromechanical, mechanical and hydraulic components has been developed, in order to allow rapid prototyping of mechatronic systems. The article discusses the modelling of electromechanical actuators and planar mechanisms more in detail.

By applying the energy conservation principle, mechatronic systems can be converted to electric circuits, and be modeled in an analog circuit simulator. For rapid prototyping of mechatronic systems, an extensive component model library is required. At VTT Automation, a multitechnical library has been developed for PSpice, a well-known, relatively inexpensive circuit simulator. The library consists of electrical, electro-mechanical, mechanical and hydraulic components and contains models at different abstraction and accuracy levels. A schematic editor has been customized to allow user-friendly input of multitechnical systems.