Sunday, November 1, 2020

China completes C-V2X Cross-industry & Large-scale Pilot Plugfest

Over 40 automakers, 40+ terminal manufacturers, 10+ chipset solution vendors, 20+ information security vendors, 5 map providers and 5 position vendors took part in China’s 2020 C-V2X Cross-industry & Large-scale Pilot Plugfest, testing and demonstrating performance and reliability of C-V2X in large-scale communication scenarios. 

This year's C-V2X interoperability demonstration across chip modules, terminals, vehicles, security platforms and map providers used new digital certificate formats, added high-definition maps and positioning, and deployed continuous scenarios closer to reality and commercially oriented applications.

The serviceability of C-V2X products and systems in deployments at scale was validated in the C-V2X Large-scale Capacity Test based on the interoperability and security mechanism validation already achieved in the previous C-V2X interoperability work. With this, the industry has taken important steps to C-V2X commercialization at scale. A total of 180 C-V2X onboard units (OBUs) and roadside units (RSUs) were used as a test background to emulate complex conditions such as rush hour in urban areas and congested roads. In this test, the C-V2X communication performance and application function tests on chip modules, terminals and vehicles in various application scenarios validated the large-scale serviceability of the C-V2X system.

Qualcomm, which was among the participants, said most of tested vehicles and OBUs were equipped with the Qualcomm® 9150 C-V2X chipset solution. The tests are also featured with the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive 4G Platform, supporting stable connectivity. Through the direct vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, 4G or 5G wireless wide area network (WWAN) vehicle-to-network (V2N) connectivity, the Snapdragon Automotive 4G/5G Platforms with integrated C-V2X technology and high-definition positioning help improve road safety and traffic efficiency to ease congestion and increase capacity, supporting C-V2X commercialization at scale.

“Today, 5G is empowering the automotive industry, expanding the set of application, and driving the C-V2X industry ecosystem to scale in China. Meanwhile, the solid foundation of the information and communication industry has also paved the way for C-V2X commercialization and implementation in China,” said Jim Misener, senior director, product management and global V2X ecosystem lead, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Qualcomm Technologies is excited to participate in China’s C-V2X application demonstration for three consecutive years, team up with a broad range of Chinese automotive ecosystem vendors to accelerate commercial C-V2X rollouts with our breakthrough product portfolio, and usher in a new era of intelligent connected vehicles for road safety and traffic efficiency.”





 

Intel to acquire SigOpt for AI model optimization software

Intel agreed to acquire SigOpt, a start-up based in San Francisco that is focusing on the optimization of artificial intelligence (AI) software models at scale. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SigOpt is a standardized, scalable, enterprise-grade optimization platform and API. The company was founded by Patrick Hayes and Scott Clark, who is credited with building an open source the Metric Optimization Engine at Yelp.

Intel plans to use SigOpt’s software technologies across Intel’s AI hardware products to help accelerate, amplify and scale Intel’s AI software solution offerings to developers.

https://sigopt.com/ 

Google Cloud hits Q3 revenue of $3.4 billion, up 45%


Google Cloud generated Q3 revenue of $3.444 billion, up 44.7% from $2.379 for the same period a year earlier.

On the quarterly investor call, Sundar Pichai, CEO Alphabet and Google, stated:  "Three trends are driving the continued momentum of our Cloud business. First, asthe shift to digital accelerates, Google Cloud continues to provide a foundation for data processing and analytics, one of the fastest-growing segments of the market. BigQuery, which provides real-time and predictive analytics, is winning retailers like Best Buy, helping them create better experiences for shoppers. Customers value our differentiated AI/ML-based industry specific solutions. This is leading to significant wins with brands like Unilever, Amwell and Reckitt Benckiser. Additionally, we’re working with government agencies like the U.S. Navy to modernize maintenance operations for vessels and facilities. We’re also partnering with the Defense Innovation Unit, part of the U.S. Department of Defense, to help military doctors with cancer detection research. And recently, we signed an enterprise agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to help scale research efforts and innovate across national labs and field sites."

"Second, customers are increasingly moving to the cloud to drive efficiencies and lower IT costs. Our strength in multi-cloud is an advantage here. This is helping us win large data center and IT transformation deals, like Nokia, which recently announced it’s migrating and modernizing approximately 30 data centers across 12 countries onto Google Cloud."

"And third, the future of work is creating a more collaborative world. Customers are looking to support hybrid work environments, and we’re seeing significant growth in demand. Earlier this month, we announced Google Workspace, which brings together all of our communication and collaboration apps and ensures they work better together. This is helping organizations like the State of West Virginia and shipping company, Ocean Network Express, improve collaboration and productivity for their employees. Google Workspace continues to grow. For example, Google Meet saw a peak in Q3 of 235 million daily meeting participants and more than 7.5 billion daily video call minutes."


SKT tests microwave links from Ericsson for 5G fronthaul


SKT is testing microwave links based on the Ericsson MINI-LINK 6352 platform as a 5G fronthaul solution.

Fronthaul is the radio to baseband connection usually provided via optical fiber. Microwave links are usually used in the backhaul segment, connecting the basebands to the core network.

In this PoC, which was carried out in October, SKT tested the compact and lightweight wireless solution to enable 5G network in areas where it is challenging to lay underground optical cables. The MINI-LINK 6352 adopts eCPRI, a standard 5G fronthaul interface that can considerably increase traffic capacity compared to the previous alternative (CPRI), thus maximizing network operation efficiency. Following its successful verification in an end-to-end 5G network, Ericsson is pressing ahead with plans to add the solution to the commercial portfolio.


Hans Mähler, Head of Microwave Systems, Business Area Networks, Ericsson, says: “We continue to support our partner SKT in their 5G journey, now progressing from initial rollouts in cities to wider coverage in suburban and remote areas. This latest collaboration shows the versatility of our products. We don’t always have to reinvent the wheel to support our customers. MINI-LINK 6352, typically used for backhaul, is now proven to be equally effective as a fronthaul solution. The solution has already attracted interest from customers around the world who are facing similar rollout challenges. We are looking forward to helping customers globally with this solution in the near future.”


Singapore's Research and Education Network deploys Ciena

Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network (SingAREN) has deployed Ciena's  6500 packet-optical platform to support dynamic re-routing of wavelengths as needed, along with Layer 0 control plane for self-healing capabilities. 

Ciena says the WaveLogicAi coherent optics in the 6500 platform doubles throughput speeds versus previous technology generations, and its programmability offers optimal capacity for any path across the network from 100G to 400G through 50G increments. SingAREN is also leveraging Ciena’s Manage, Control and Plan (MCP) domain controller to improve network visibility and expedite optical management and operations.

Together with Terrabit Networks, which designed and implemented the network, Ciena has transformed SingAREN’s architecture to a mesh network that can more easily recover from fiber failures and provide uninterrupted services for research and education initiatives. 

“Singapore is a regional hub that pushes the frontier of data-driven science and technology. It is mission critical that our network provides sufficient bandwidth and seamless connectivity to the research and education community. Ciena’s industry-leading optical technology equips SingAREN with a network that can withstand connectivity demands as they emerge,” states Lawrence Wong, President, SingAREN.

General Atomics acquires Guidestar Optical Systems

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems has acquired Guidestar Optical Systems, a privately-held company based in Longmont, Colorado, focused on the design and development of innovative optical solutions for uses in directed energy, free space laser communications, and sensing and imaging through optical turbulence.

“We are excited to bring the Guidestar team on board to further enhance our diverse portfolio of laser technologies,” stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “Guidestar’s expertise in adaptive optics has led to significant advancements in laser communications, high-energy laser technologies, ISR (Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance), and atmospheric measurement and forecasting. This acquisition expands our ability to design, build, test, and deliver an extensive set of optical technologies to our customers.”

https://www.ga.com/

R.I.P Dan Kohn, Open Source Pioneer

Dan Kohn, the driving force behind the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, has died of complications from colon cancer in NYC. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

As Executive Director of CNCF for 4 years, Dan grew the foundation from 28 to 560 members, making it one of the most successful open source projects in the world. Most recently, Dan was General Manager of Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH), which is using open source software to help public health authorities (PHAs) around the world combat COVID-19 and future epidemics. 

Earlier in his career, Dan was a co-founder of NetMarket, an online marketplace that is credited with conducting the first secure commercial transaction on the web in 1994.

https://www.dankohn.com/