Proximus, in collaboration with Saroléa, a Belgian brand of electric motorcycles, and ML6, a technology company specialised in AI services, has successfully tested a new 5G application that can contribute to safer traffic in the long term. An electric motorcycle was equipped with a 5G modem and a camera that identifies people, vehicles or obstacles via artificial intelligence.

To put the application into practice, a Saroléa motorcycle was equipped with a 5G mobile router and an HD dashcam. The connected dashcam transmits the images in real time to an algorithm with AI capabilities in the cloud, which analyzes the images and identifies obstacles on the road, such as pedestrians or other vehicles. This algorithm was developed by the Ghent company ML6, which specializes in AI applications.

You can see an impression of the previous tests in the video below:

The design of the test sequence at this stage was mainly to identify pedestrians on the motorcycle’s trajectory, “in real time” and with high reliability. The 5G connection was tested at different speeds and different distances from the antenna. With success, because the recognition and identification of obstacles proved to be more than 99% accurate, and the variations in speed and distance from the antenna had no influence on the stability of the connection, nor on the latency.

Gaetan Dewingaerden | Head of 5G at Proximus:
Through our 5G innovation platform, we co-operate with companies from diverse sectors on applications that can bring some positive change in our society. After previously testing the possibilities of 5G to reduce the use of weed killers in agriculture and to enrich the concert experience of music lovers, we now give a first impression of how the technology can contribute to safer traffic in the future. With these tests, we highlight our leading role in the field of 5G in Belgium.

Bjorn Robbens | Co-owner of Sarolea
As a pioneer in the field of electric two-wheelers, we believe that the motorcycle deserves a full place in the mobility mix. Using technology to support drivers and make motorcycles safer could boost the popularity of the mode of transport. 5G connectivity plays a crucial role in this! Sensors and cameras on our motorcycles continuously feed the AI models of our partner ML6. The data is analyzed in real time and indicates where dangerous situations arise. The technology will initially be further tested on our racing motorcycles and in due course it will also be offered to our customers.

Nicolas Deruytter | CEO Skyhaus/ML6
5G opens up a world of possibilities for new intelligent computer vision applications. At ML6, we believe that real-time video processing will drive innovation in a variety of domains such as monitoring, security, quality control and real-time analytics for government, industry and agriculture. 5G makes it possible to connect multiple high-resolution video streams to the cloud where they are analyzed in real time and the results sent back to the scene or to a control room for intervention. By collaborating with Sarolea and Proximus on this test, we can better advise our customers on the choice between edge and streaming architecture in terms of performance, scalability and costs.