Can tomorrow’s smart infrastructure create safer, more efficient and more sustainable traffic for everyone? While research and development is ongoing and making rapid progress, as yet the answer is undetermined. It depends.
In the EU project Augmented CCAM, 26 partners from 12 countries are working to understand, harmonise and evaluate the concept Physical, Digital and Communication infrastructure (PDI), in order to simplify and improve transport using both self-driven and human-driven vehicles.
The project is exploring PDI support solutions such as digital road signs, sensors, smart road markings and traffic lights connected in digital systems that send signals to vehicles. Examples of PDI’s applications include detecting unprotected road users and roadworks, interaction with emergency vehicles and easing access to major roads.
The project combines studies of individual vehicles, trials using driving simulators and detailed vehicle simulations with studies of the impact on traffic flows performed using traffic simulations at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). Simply expressed, the research question is: How do vehicles behave with and without PDI support?
“We use data from individual vehicles to simulate various traffic situations with varying amounts of traffic. One important element is studying whether and, if so, how the effects are dependent on the percentage of automated vehicles,” explain Kinjal Bhattacharyya and Johan Olstam, who are working on the project.
The project ends in April and thus far the experiments have demonstrated several interesting results. While PDI functions excellently in certain situations, it is less effective in others. One good example is roadworks, where without smart infrastructure automated vehicles simply stop at the cordon, while with this support they navigate elegantly around it.
There is also a significant difference in how automated vehicles and human drivers are affected. The former react quickly to signals to stop or slow down, while the latter need a little more time to think. In terms of planning and predicting traffic, however, it appears that a competent, safety-aware human driver still has the edge.
The project’s overall question – whether smart infrastructure makes traffic safer and more efficient – is thus difficult to answer.
“I would say that automated vehicles generally work better with PDI than without. When a human drives, it depends. Factors such as the driver’s attitude, awareness, experience and skill, as well as the traffic situation, all play a major role,” says Bhattacharyya.
Olstam emphasises that there are difficult trade-offs to consider, such as between safety and accessibility. Nor is it clear where PDI has the greatest benefits: Is it for the individual driver or for the transport system as a whole, or both? The technology is already there, but many issues of economics, responsibility and benefits are yet to be resolved.
Translation: CBG
Contact
- Johan Olstam
Senior Research Leader
johan.olstam@vti.se - Kinjal Bhattacharyya
Researcher
kinjal.bhattacharyya@vti.se
Follow us: