As the introduction of automated vehicles becomes feasible, even in urban areas, it will be necessary to investigate their impacts on traffic safety and efficiency. This is particularly true during the early stages of market introduction, where automated vehicles of all SAE levels, connected vehicles (able to communicate via V2X) and conventional vehicles will share the same roads with varying penetration rates. There will be zones and situations on the roads where high automation can be granted, and others where it is not allowed or not possible due to missing sensor inputs, high complexity situations, etc. In the areas where those zones merge many automated vehicles will change their activated level of automation. Therefore, we refer to these areas as “Transition Areas”. TransAID will develop and demonstrate traffic management procedures and protocols to enable smooth coexistence of automated, connected and conventional vehicles especially at Transition Areas. A hierarchical approach will be followed where control actions will be implemented at different layers including centralised traffic management, infrastructure and vehicles. First, simulations will be performed to find optimal infrastructure-assisted management solutions to control connected, automated and conventional vehicles at Transition Areas, taking into account traffic safety and efficiency metrics. Then, communication protocols for the cooperation between connected/automated vehicles and the road infrastructure are developed. Measures to detect and inform conventional vehicles will also be addressed. The most promising solutions will be implemented as real world prototypes and demonstrated under real urban conditions. Finally, guidelines for advanced infrastructure-assisted driving will be formulated. The guidelines will also include a roadmap defining activities and needed upgrades of road infrastructure in the upcoming 15 years in order to guarantee a smooth coexistence of conventional, connected and automated vehicles.

Cyclists suffer a disproportionate share of serious injuries and fatalities, and indeed in recent years that disadvantage has been growing. At the same time they often are not treated equally by traffic systems (e.g. traffic signals frequently fail to register their approach or presence). XCYCLE has the aim of developing the means to equalise the treatment of cyclists in traffic and thus both encourage cycling and make cycling safer. XCYCLE will develop: technologies aimed at improving active and passive detection of cyclists; systems informing both drivers and cyclists of a hazard at junctions; effective methods of presenting information in vehicles and on-site; cooperation systems aimed at reducing collisions with cyclists. Two relevant use cases would be bicycle interaction with large vehicles and cars at intersections and the provision of an immediate or extended green traffic light for cyclists approaching traffic signals. An in-vehicle detection system and a system of threat mitigation and risk avoidance by traffic signals will be developed. The components developed and built up will be systematically integrated, implemented and verified. A new large-scale research infrastructure in the city of Braunschweig (DE) and a second test mobile platform will be used as test site. A demo bicycle with a cooperative technology will be developed and tested as well. A user-centred approach will be adopted. Behavioural evaluation will part of the whole process: attentional responses using eye tracking data; evaluation of human-machine interface; acceptance and willingness to pay. In the Cost-Benefit Analysis behavioural changes will be translated into estimated crashes and casualties saved per system. The project will contribute to innovative and efficient advanced safety measures to reduce the number of accidents, often of high severity, involving cyclists in interaction with motorised vehicles.

Highly automated vehicles and cooperative ITS technology will get more and more present in the near future. By combining both, guidance of (groups of) such vehicles can considerably improve especially in urban areas. For management of automated vehicles at signalized intersection and corridors, the MAVEN (Managing Automated Vehicles Enhances Network) project will develop infrastructure-assisted platoon organization and negotiation algorithms. These extend and connect vehicle systems for trajectory and maneuver planning and infrastructure systems for adaptive traffic light optimization. Traffic lights adapting their signal timing to facilitate the movement of organized platoons and reversely will yield substantial better utilization of infrastructure capacity, reduction of vehicle delay and reduction of emission. The MAVEN project will build a system prototype for both field tests and extensive modeling for impact assessment, contribute to the development of enabling technologies such as communication standards and high-precision maps, and develop ADAS techniques for inclusion of vulnerable road users. Additionally, MAVEN will include a user assessment and the development of a roadmap for the introduction of vehicle-road automation to support road authorities in understanding changes in their role and the tasks of traffic management systems. Finally, MAVEN will white paper on ‘management of automated vehicles in a smart city environment’ will be written to position the MAVEN results in the broader perspective of passenger transport in smart / future cities and to embed them with smart city principles and technologies as well as service delivery.

The main objective of EMPOWER is to substantially reduce the use of conventionally fueled vehicles (CFV) in cities by influencing the mobility behaviour of CFV drivers and users towards fundamental change. To achieve this objective EMPOWER will create a set of tools for industry, policy makers and employers. These will empower them beyond the lifespan of this project to understand, help choose and successfully implement ‘positive’ evidence-based and cost-effective policy interventions, based on new and innovative mobility services, and in the context of already existing infrastructure, policy and measures. EMPOWER will reduce the use of CFV by: shifting trips to other modes/other vehicle types, promoting sharing and self-organisation and reducing demand overall e.g. through remote access to services. Undesirable impacts from CFV use will be reduced by: shifting CFV use to outside peak times and diversions to avoid particular areas/routes. The research will be multidisciplinary and involve: social science research with the public, 4 living lab experiments and 7 City demonstrators which will be chosen through an open 'bidding' process. The EMPOWER concept will be used in practice by: City stakeholders being able (through a software tool) to choose positive policy options based on their expected impacts and deliver incentives and social network sharing schemes to individuals using software. The innovation outputs of EMPOWER include an EMPOWER Toolkit to support industry, policy makers and employers to understand, choose and implement positive policy interventions. The Toolkit includes: new mobility services to provide innovative positive policy measures, new evidence on behavioural responses and impacts from positive incentives, improved organisational models for successful implementation of positive policy measures and innovation in the evaluation methodology for new mobility services. We expect at least 1 million persons to be impacted by EMPOWER.

Ports are essential for the European economy; 74% of goods exported or imported to the EU are transported via its seaports. At the same time, the challenges they face are only getting greater: Volumes of cargo increase while they also arrive in a shrinking number of vessels: Post-Panamax vessels have a capacity of more than 18k containers. Port operators need to comply with increasingly stricter environmental regulations and societal views for sustainability. A sustainable land-use strategy in and around the port and a strategic transition to new, service-based, management models that improve capacity and efficiency are paramount. They are key enablers for ports that want to keep pace with the ocean carriers needs and establish themselves as trans-shipment hubs with a ‘societal license to operate’; for ports whose land strategy, hinterland accessibility and operations are underpinned by circular economy principles. COREALIS proposes a strategic, innovative framework, supported by disruptive technologies, including IoT, data analytics, next generation traffic management and 5G,for modern ports to handle future capacity, traffic, efficiency and environmental challenges. It respects their limitations regarding the port land, intermodal infrastructure and terminal operation. It proposes beyond state of the art innovations to increase efficiency and optimize land-use, while being financially viable, respecting circular economy and being of service to the city. Through COREALIS, the port will minimize its environmental footprint to the city, it will decrease disturbance to local population through a reduction in the congestion around the port. It will be a pillar of business innovation, promoting local startups in disruptive technologies of mutual interest. COREALIS innovations are key both for the major deep sea European ports in view of the new mega-vessel era, but also relevant for medium sized ports with limited investment funds for infrastructure and automation.