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Group Riding Enhanced by C-ITS: THI Students and nfiniity Collaborate on Innovative Communication Project

Raphael Riebl, Christina Riebl
Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt

Group picture
Figure 1: Group picture (Source: Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt).

Students from Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI) recently completed a forward-looking project focused on improving motorcyclists' experience when riding in groups using Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS). Conducted during a semester-long lecture and jointly supervised by Christina Riebl and Raphael Riebl the project explored real-time coordination among riders through V2X communication.

The team developed an Android mobile application that allows motorcyclists riding in a group to share personal needs and situational events - such as fuel stops, accidents, toilet breaks, or rest pauses - via ITS-G5 short-range communication. The Android app connects via Bluetooth to the V2X evaluation kit cube:evk, that supports both ITS-G5 and C-V2X, enabling real-time dissemination of a new experimental message type across the rider group.

Android application
Figure 2: Android mobile application (Source: Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt).

As part of the project, a motorcycle was equipped with the cube:evk, allowing live transmission of rider-generated events from the Android app via ITS-G5 to nearby group members. This hands-on integration demonstrated the feasibility of V2X-powered communication for enhancing riding experience beyond traditional safety use cases.

While ITS-G5 is best known for its safety applications based on Cooperative Awareness (CAM) and Decentralized Environmental Notification Messages (DENM), this project's new message type enabled the safe coordination of informal riding formations.

Supported by nfiniity GmbH, the project demonstrates how connected mobility solutions can be extended into rider-focused use cases. Besides training their project management skills, students successfully applied real-world C-ITS technologies to create a smarter, more connected group riding experience. Last but not least, students and theirs supervisors celebrated the successful demo event with BBQ and drinks.

Motorcycle prototype
Figure 3: Motorcycle prototype (Source: Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt).

A special thank you goes to the Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC) and Suzuki for providing a motorcycle prototype, which made this real-world integration and demonstration possible.