Assessment of SAR in Road-Users from 5G-V2X Vehicular Connectivity Based on Computational Simulations

Abstract

(1) Background: Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) will soon operate using 5G New-Radio (NR) wireless communication, overcoming the limitations of the current V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) wireless communication technologies and increasing road-safety and driving efficiency. These innovations will also change the RF exposure levels of pedestrians and road-users in general. These people, in fact, will be exposed to additional RF sources coming from nearby cars and from the infrastructure. Therefore, an exposure assessment of people in the proximity of a connected car is necessary and urgent. (2) Methods: Two array antennas for 5G-V2X communication at 3.5 GHz were modelled and mounted on a realistic 3D car model for evaluating the exposure levels of a human model representing people on the road near the car. Computational simulations were conducted using the FDTD solver implemented in the Sim4Life platform; different positions and orientations between the car and the human model were assessed. The analyzed quantities were the Specific Absorption Rate on the whole body (SARwb), averaged over 10 g (SAR10g) in specific tissues, as indicated in the ICNIRP guidelines. (3) Results: the data showed that the highest exposure levels were obtained mostly in the head area of the human model, with the highest peak obtained in the configuration where the main beam of the 5G-V2X antennas was more direct towards the human model. Moreover, in all configurations, the dose absorbed by a pedestrian was well below the ICNIRP guidelines to avoid harmful effects. (4) Conclusions: This work is the first study on human exposure assessment in a 5G-V2X scenario, and it expands the knowledge about the exposure levels for the forthcoming use of 5G in connected vehicles.

Assessment of the Variability of Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields Arising from 5.9 GHz Vehicular Communication in Urban Environments

“…The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the variability of the exposure to the radiofrequency (RF) field generated in vehicular communication, with a specific focus on V2V communication operating at 5.9 GHz, and its impact on road users. The current research builds upon our previous studies [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] on RF exposure in V2V 5.9 GHz communication and seeks to provide more generalized and comprehensive results.…”

“…In contrast to the previous studies that used simplistic scenarios to assess RF human exposure in vehicular communication [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], the current research takes a more thorough approach. It considers additional factors that reflect real-world conditions of V2V communication, acknowledging the complexity of such environments.…”

“…In the previous studies [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], the exposure dose was determined in an exposure scenario that comprised a 3D model of a transmitting car equipped with V2V antennas and a human model which was placed either close to the transmitting car to simulate a pedestrian [ 8 , 9 , 10 ] or inside the car to simulate a passenger [ 11 ]. Additionally, in these latter studies, the transmitting car and the human model were placed in the air and the dose absorbed by the human model was obtained by considering only one transmitting car in the scenario with no obstacles or scatterers along the optical path between the transmitter (the car) and the receiver (the road user).…”

“…To incorporate this variability, we introduced the height of cars as a random variable in our analysis. On the other hand, the results in [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ] were obtained for one model of a car with fixed dimensions. Finally, apart from modeling the effects of different urban layouts and field propagation conditions as described earlier, we also sought to account for the variations in exposure resulting from diverse operational conditions of V2V communication and the anatomical characteristics of road users.…”

Assessment of Children’s Exposure to Intelligent Transport System 5.9 GHz Vehicular Connectivity Using Numerical Dosimetry

“…As evidenced in a recent survey on wireless technologies used in connected vehicles [13], research on the assessment of exposure due to V2X and automotive sensing is scarce. There exist only a few articles that addressed this topic [14][15][16]. Specifically, Tognola et al [14] assessed the RF-EMF dose absorbed by an adult passenger inside a car equipped with V2V antennas operating at the ITS-5.9 GHz band, whereas Benini et al [15] investigated the exposure outside the car in an adult pedestrian standing near a car equipped with the same V2V technology.…”