Space lab aims at driverless cars

The UK's Space Agency has backed a laboratory from mobile phone operator O2 looking at how 5G and satellite links could be used for driverless cars. However wide area links are needed for coverage outside of 5G networks, which is where the satellite links come in. This links up with the UK's rescue of the OneWeb low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation that is intended to provide broadband links, although with higher latency than 1ms. The lab will be based at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire which is already the focus of space technology development with the European Space Agency and will also host the recent £10m purchase of a quantum computer from Rigetti Computing. "We are excited to continue working on 5G projects with our partners, especially the Darwin SatCom Lab located on the Harwell Campus, which is also home to the ESA's European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications," said Antonio Franchi, 5G Strategic Programme Manager at the European Space Agency.