Autonomous vehicles in 5G and beyond: a survey

Fifth Generation (5G) mobile technology is the latest generation of mobile networks that is being deployed to facilitate emerging applications and services. 5G offers enhanced mobile broadband, massive machine type communication, and ultra reliable low latency communication. Hence, the capabilities of 5G can be harnessed to satisfy the requirements of autonomous vehicles (AV). AVs are developed to offer comfort, safety and efficient driving. However, the capabilities of 5G are yet to be harness by AVs and related technologies. In response, this survey provides a comprehensive review on AVs in the 5G and beyond era. The paper provides a discussion on the current advancements in AVs, automation levels, enabling technologies and the requirement of 5G networks. Furthermore, the paper focuses on emerging technologies enabling the integration of 5G with AVs, the impact of 5G and B5G for AVs and the envisaged security concerns in AVs. The paper also provides a comprehensive understanding of recent developments in terms of standardisation activities and projects on 5G AV technologies. The article also provides lessons learnt, existing challenges, and future research directions to facilitate the development of AV technologies in the 5G and beyond era.