For over a decade, the world has watched the rise of autonomous vehicles with equal parts fascination and anticipation. What once seemed like science fiction has taken physical form in the shape of cars that can drive themselves.
Yet despite massive investment and technical progress, the dream of a truly driverless future remains elusive. What’s becoming increasingly clear is that no matter how intelligent or capable an autonomous vehicle may be, it cannot operate safely in a vacuum. The road to zero traffic fatalities doesn’t begin with the car. It begins with the network that supports it.
The term ‘autonomous vehicle’ suggests independence. But today’s AVs are anything but self-reliant. They depend on real-time data, constant updates, and seamless communication with other systems. These vehicles function less like self-contained robots and more like nodes in a vast, dynamic network. If that network breaks down, so too does the vehicle’s ability to operate safely.
This fragile dependency was laid bare during a recent incident in San Francisco, when several Cruise-operated autonomous taxis stalled in the middle of traffic. The cause wasn’t a software bug or a faulty sensor, it was a saturated local network caused by a nearby event. In that moment, autonomy wasn’t defeated by a lack of intelligence, but by inadequate infrastructure.
To find solutions, we can look to industries that already demand resilient, high-performance connectivity in extreme environments. The maritime sector is a powerful example. Ships operating in isolated ocean conditions maintain near-constant communication thanks to hybrid networks that bond satellite, coastal cellular, and long-range radio into one seamless connection. These systems are designed not for perfection in ideal conditions, but for continuity in unpredictable ones.
What works at sea can also work on land – but only if we shift our thinking. Rather than putting all the focus on making cars smarter, we must invest in building intelligent infrastructure. That means layering technologies like 5G, 6G, and low Earth orbit satellites, and enabling vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications with roadside units and embedded sensors. Cities must be able to gather and relay local information quickly and reliably to the vehicles that depend on it.
But connectivity alone isn’t enough. These various systems must be orchestrated by intelligent software that can dynamically route traffic based on priority, latency, or network disruption. This is about building systems that degrade gracefully, maintaining core functionality even during outages.
The EU-backed €9.3 million SafeRoute-6G initiative, led by HITEC Luxembourg, is a promising blueprint. Rather than concentrating intelligence in the vehicle, SafeRoute-6G distributes it across a connected ecosystem. Vehicles and infrastructure share real-time data about hazards and road conditions.
Digital twins simulate cyberattacks, while hybrid teleoperation allows humans to take remote control in edge cases. Critically, it ensures seamless connectivity across jurisdictions, supporting continuous data flow between networks and borders.
Of course, resilience at this scale brings new challenges. Cybersecurity is a top concern, but complexity can also improve defence – intelligent routing and compartmentalised architectures help contain breaches and maintain continuity. Regulatory alignment remains a hurdle, but joint initiatives in the US and EU are nudging standards in the right direction.
Perhaps the greatest challenge is public trust. Many remain sceptical about autonomous vehicles, and that won’t change through marketing. It will require evidence such as real-world data from pilot programmes showing lower crash rates, improved traffic flow, and reduced emissions.
Autonomous mobility was never just about building smarter vehicles. It’s about building smarter environments around them. As the maritime world has proven, hybrid connectivity works. Now, it’s time to apply those lessons on land.
Only when governments treat digital infrastructure with the same seriousness as asphalt and concrete will we be able to move from ambition to action and from promise to safety.
Read Livewire Digital’s latest whitepaper on autonomous systems and the road to next generation transport ecosystems.
About the author:
Tristan Wood, Founder and CEO at Livewire Digital
