Halo, the innovative, soon-to-be commercial fleet of automobiles, is being powered by T-Mobile’s 5G network. The collaboration is happening in Las Vegas, Nevada, a city that is rapidly growing a reputation for innovative 5G applications as DISH Wireless and Amazon Web Services (AWS) also launched DISH’s 5G network in Sin City earlier in 2021. Inside the vehicle are several 5G modems that work in conjunction with each other to relay messages to T-Mobile’s 5G network including in-car cameras. Halo’s first fleet will be made up of five cars and is looking to connect primarily to T-Mobile’s mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum.
“It’s the fastest and most reliable network in Las Vegas,” proclaimed John Saw, the Executive Vice President of Advanced and Emerging Technologies at T-Mobile.
“This is where T-Mobile is such a great ally for us,” said the CEO and Founder of Halo, Anand Nandakumar. “It’s a good partnership for us because 5G makes this vision a reality. We are able to stream all this data up to T-Mobile’s 5G network,” Nandakumar continued.
Automated vehicles are a huge focal point for 5G. They provide high speeds, large capacities for sending data, and a reduced amount of latency. This allows devices such as cars to respond to split-second decisions in complex environments while connected to the latest generation of wireless. Halo is working to provide riders with a way to hail a ride wherever it is needed.
“We bring a (fully) electric vehicle, without a driver inside, to your doorstep, and once the car gets there, as a customer, you jump into the car,” said Nandakumar. “You drive the car manually yourself to the destination,” Nandakumar added before saying that riders would “simply hop off and walk away” once arriving at their destination. Afterward, “the car gets automatically repositioned to another customer.”
Step by step seems to be the approach Halo is taking as riders are still a ways from a fully automated service. But that doesn’t mean the company isn’t providing tremendous value to busy riders. No more riding around with a stranger, no more wasting time looking for a parking spot or having to walk from a farther distance to reach your building, with Halo, riders simply drive right up, and then the car finds its way to the next user. Halo is receiving support from the local government as it works to deliver on reducing traffic and pollution. Over time, Halo is looking to work with the city to connect to its fleet via C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) to city infrastructure.
Safety is always a concern when automobiles are involved as they are when introducing new, automated technology to the public. Halo is feeling confident with its approach and is ready to begin its commercial offering as it enhances features little by little over time into full automation. Using RemotePilot technology, Halo is training drivers in-house to operate the vehicles remotely while connected to T-Mobile’s 5G network.
Additional safety features Halo is equipping its automated fleet with including its “Advanced Safe Stop” which causes the vehicle to come to a complete stop should a hazard occur, or if a system irregularity is detected. The vehicles will also use an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that will learn while in the background as humans drive the fleet.
A price point for the service has not yet been released, and users can use a credit card to order their ride. “Our mission for the company is to make it extremely affordable, so anybody can get in and use the car,” said Nandakumar.
Halo is expecting its services to be available to consumers by the end of 2021.
Source: Fierce Wireless