Making Connections: New V2X Tech Brings in Smartphones, Next-Gen ECall

Vehicle-to-whatever communication technologies continue to be put through their paces around the world.

August 15, 2025

Sebastian Blanco

Škoda became the first vehicle manufacturer to offer Safety Cloud’s digital alerts in Europe in June 2025. (Škoda)

To point at just one example of the continued evolution of V2X technologies, let’s take a quick visit to Japan and the 2025 JSAE Annual Spring Congress this May. That’s where Toyota and Eye-Net Mobile Ltd., a subsidiary of Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd., presented a research paper on using vehicle-to-network technology to enhance ADAS systems by connecting to smartphones in the environment to address the inherent limitations of in-vehicle sensors.

HAAS Alert and Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. announced a strategic partnership to lead the next generation of in-vehicle experience. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)

Titled “Feasibility Study of a Hazard Avoidance Brake Control System Using V2N Technology,” the paper examined how smartphones could act as external sensors that could connect to an onboard ADAS system using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications. The main purpose of these signals would be for enhanced hazard detection, Toyota said, adding that some of the top issues addressed in the paper were“ communication latency, tracking accuracy, and the positioning precision of these devices in diverse urban environments,” where direct line-of-sight isn’t always possible.

The Toyota study used Eye-Net’s vehicle-to-everything (“V2X”) technology, which was recently also tested in France. There, Eye-Net worked with the Renault Group and telecommunications company Orange S.A., among others, on a real-world trial in Bordeaux. During the first phase of that trial, Eye-Net’s V2X platform was integrated into Orange’s mobile app and the deployed in the city to monitor interactions between cyclists, passenger vehicles and buses. Eye-Net said its technology “successfully detect[ed] more than 99% of interactions between users.”

“Using widely available smartphones and connected vehicles, Eye-Net’s technology creates a real-time communication network that can detect potential collisions and deliver immediate alerts, even in situations with limited or obstructed visibility,” the company said in a statement.

A second trial phase will take place in Bordeaux in the fourth quarter of 2025. This one will involve up to 10,000 people who will sign up to get Eye-Net’s alert system via a public transportation app. In a separate announcement, Eye-Net said it is working with a top European vehicle manufacturer to integrate the alerts into a vehicle’s display system for “potential commercial integration.”

Mitsubishi, Škoda connect to Safety Cloud

Mitsubishi’s newest in-cabin monitoring system, FLEXConnect, will integrate with HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud digital alert platform. (Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc.)

In May, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. (MEAA) announced that the company’s newest in-cabin monitoring system, FLEXConnect, will now integrate with the Safety Cloud digital alert platform from HAAS Alert. FLEXConnect was announced at CES 2025 and is the latest in a long line of OEM in-cabin systems that communicate with Safety Cloud in real-time for safety notifications sent out by emergency and official vehicles, at work zones and from other active road hazards. Safety Cloud connections are currently embedded in Apple Maps and Waze navigation apps as well as some Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Volkswagen vehicles.

MEAA said that FLEXConnect will be able to do more than just receive alerts about hazardous conditions and pass them to the driver. The system can also use Safety Cloud to send an alert to nearby vehicles when a car it’s installed in becomes disabled or in another way potentially dangerous to others.

“Mitsubishi Electric’s focus on automotive innovation and safety is in perfect lockstep with HAAS Alert’s mission to make vehicles and roads safer and smarter,” Hussein Zaarour, vice president of business development for connected vehicles at HAAS Alert, said in a statement.

In June, Škoda became the first vehicle manufacturer to offer Safety Cloud’s digital alerts in Europe; in this case, real-time warnings that an ambulance is approaching will be available in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The alert messages will be presented to drivers

Rohde & Schwarz’s work with Qualcomm Technologies aims to enhance the safety and efficiency of emergency response systems. (Rhode & Schwarz)

HAAS touts Safety Cloud as “the industry's most comprehensive V2X digital alerting platform,” and it was clearly designed to emphasize the X. Devices in work zones, on emergency response vehicles, and from municipalities can all be connected to the network, alerting drivers about disabled vehicles, wrong-way drivers and weather hazards, for example.

"The speed of our integration with Safety Cloud demonstrates the power of modern connected vehicle platforms," Michal Vondra, product manager responsible for Traffication at Škoda, said in a statement. "In less than one year, we were able to seamlessly integrate HAAS Alert's comprehensive V2X alerting capabilities into our existing Traffication app. This rapid deployment underscores our dedication to quickly delivering innovative safety technologies to our Škoda customers."

eCall

First introduced in 2015, the eCall automated vehicle emergency call system continues to evolve. In July, Rohde & Schwarz announced that it had verified that the Next Generation eCall (NG eCall) works on Qualcomm Technologies ’Snapdragon Auto 5G Modem-RF to the EN 17240:2024 Standard.

A mandatory requirement for all new cars sold in the EU since 2018, eCall originally relied on 2G/3G networks. As these networks are being phased out, eCall systems will need to be updated to work with 4G/5G packet-switched cellular networks, Rhode & Schwarz said, and new vehicles in the EU will be required to have NG eCall starting at the beginning of 2026. NG eCall systems must be tested over IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks, and R&S used its CMX500 mobile radio tester to simulate a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) as it validated the Snapdragon Auto 5G Modem-RF’s capabilities.

"We are pleased to have joined forces with Qualcomm Technologies on the verification of their chipsets ’NG eCall implementation," Juergen Meyer, vice president of Market Segment Automotive at Rohde & Schwarz, said in a statement. "This collaboration sets a new benchmark for the future of emergency call services, providing the automotive industry a robust and dependable solution to meet the latest eCall standards."