TOKYO, Japan, November 16, 2017 – SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (“Honda”), today announced that SoftBank and Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (“Honda R&D”), a wholly owned R&D subsidiary of Honda, have begun discussions toward a joint research project to strengthen connected car technologies* which will offer new experiences and value by connecting mobility products, primarily cars, and various other things. The two companies will pursue this joint research with a view to the future adoption of 5th generation mobile communication system (“5G”) standards.
In the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2018, SoftBank will install experiential 5G base stations at Honda R&D’s Takasu Proving Ground (in Takasu-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido, Japan), and the two companies will start full-fledged joint research under the 5G environment.
* Internet-connectivity and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technologies
<Outline of the joint research>
The two companies will create a 5G environment by utilizing Honda’s closed test course (Takasu Proving Ground) and work to develop the following technologies;
●High-speed handover technology
The development of technologies and on-board antennas which will enable a stable handover of base stations for communication by a vehicle moving at high-speed.
●Recovery technologies for areas with weak/out-of-range signals
The development of technologies that can secure data sending/receiving performance in areas with a weak signal as well as data processing technologies.
●Technological development for various other usages
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