San Diego based antenna tech developer Airgain has been picked by DiDi Chuxing, a Chinese mobile transportation platform, to provide Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) connectivity for an autonomous vehicle pilot in Shanghai.

Airgain’s MULTIMAX FV ™ ITS 3-in-1 high gain antenna provides two high gain directional antenna arrays operating in the ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) 5.9GHz frequency band, as is used for DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) and C-V2X communications, and 1×1 multi-constellation GNSS (GPS/Beidou) for navigation.

The roof-mount MULTIMAX FV ITS antenna solution was customised for DiDi’s robo-taxi project, having been tested throughout several stages on its autonomous vehicles on public roads in Jiading District of Shanghai.

“The Airgain C-V2X solution was chosen based on the high gain and efficiency results, and the ability to perform at an advanced level when working on set routes,” said John Pan, General Manager, Asia at Airgain. “We’re thrilled to have been chosen by DiDi and we value our relationship with this leading-edge company. We are looking forward to further technological collaborations in support of the advancement of autonomous driving technologies.”

“Working with our auto-industry partners, DiDi has the potential to become the first business to realise a large-scale robo-taxi service in China,” said Zhang Bo, Chief Technology Officer at DiDi, and the head of its autonomous driving unit. “After searching the industry for wireless technology partners, Airgain was the obvious choice. We value this opportunity to leverage Airgain’s automotive antenna technology for the advancement of ITS application development.”