connectivity

In June, the European Space Agency (ESA) published the report ‘Space for Automotive: Use Cases and Market Opportunities’. This report looks at how modern technology is transforming the automotive industry, and at the role the space industry can play. In particular, the report talks about the importance of reliable connectivity for modern vehicles, especially self-driving vehicles.

On Thursday 22 February, we were pleased to welcome China Unicom to the Darwin SatCom Lab at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. Over the course of its three-decade history, China Unicom has become one of the largest mobile providers in China, and indeed one of the largest worldwide.

On 14 June 2023, Darwin and Cognizant collaborated to demonstrate remote operation of a self-driving vehicle: the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle. The demonstration took place as part of a summit hosted by Cognizant. From Cognizant’s Analyst Conference in London, commands were sent to the shuttle in Oxfordshire, allowing City analysts to see how the vehicle could be controlled remotely.

Our partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) has been crucial to our work at Darwin, enabling projects like the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle and our ubiquitous communications technology. ESA’s Directorate for Telecommunications and Integrated Applications (TIA) has now published a white paper about the connected car of the future, and we’re delighted to have played a role in the paper’s creation.

On 15 March 2023, Virgin Media O2 and Cisco launched a remarkable product: a private 5G network in a box. The portable network is aimed at organisations that want to make use of 5G’s high capacity and potential but cannot afford to invest in 5G infrastructure.

The launch took place at O2 and Darwin’s SatCom Lab at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. Darwin also played a part in the portable network’s development by testing the product in its fleet of connected vehicles, including the Darwin Autonomous Shuttle.