Global connected vehicle technology company Cohda Wireless’s connected vehicle technology solution, the MK6, has been certified by America’s Federal Communications Commission. This follows the European Union and UK certifications of the MK6 RSU and OBU, granted in August 2023.
The FCC recently granted waivers permitting deployment of cellular-vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology in the upper 30 MHz of spectrum in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band.
As a participant in the FCC Joint Waiver program, Cohda is the first to receive the green light for C-V2X (B47) from the FCC for its Original Equipment Products MK6 RSU connectivity device.
Cohda launched the MK6 in late 2022, calling it the world’s most advanced and versatile V2X connectivity solution. The MK6 RSU (Road-Side Unit) and OBU (On-Board Unit) offer the most comprehensive connectivity capability as standard features, including DSRC, C-V2X, LTE/5G and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth. Cohda’s V2X stack and applications are already the most widely deployed in the industry but the MK6 is its most capable, most versatile, and most powerful platform to date.
Cohda says it expects news of the MK6’s certification to be well received across the US nation. In developing the sixth generation MK6, Cohda has applied its experience and involvement in some of the world’s most prolific trials and deployments, including the 3000+ vehicle New York Connected Vehicle Project. Cohda is currently supporting, among others, The Smart Intersections Project in Michigan. The $20-million project started in 2021 and will equip 21 intersections in Ann Arbor with technology to track crashes and near misses by 2024.
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) Senior Program Manager Debra Bezzina said: “The availability of the MK6 V2X device allows the Smart Intersections Project to deploy in the city of Ann Arbor, providing safety benefits to all of our road users.”
Cohda CEO Dr. Paul Gray said that the MK6’s certification comes at a critical time in the deployment of C-ITS in the United States.
“These are very interesting times that we have all been waiting for and whilst the pathway to this point has been bumpy, the industry has matured substantially and change is here and it’s real,” explained Dr. Gray.
“Our clients in the United States should also be buoyed by the fact that the MK6 qualifies under the Buy American Act,” added Dr. Gray.
At the time of publishing this release, the FCC granted the waiver request applications of major states and cities such as the Utah, Virginia, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Wyoming state departments of transportation, the City and County of Denver, the Macomb County Department of Roads, the City of Chattanooga, and the Regents of the University of Michigan, allowing for the deployment of C-V2X on their respective roads and highways.
The MK6 features NXP® Semiconductors’ RoadLink® SAF5400 and SXF1800 chipsets as well as the Qualcomm Snapdragon® Auto 5G Modem-RF Platform.
(Picture – Cohda Wireless)
