Report on VRA Network - EuropaReport on VRA Network Deliverable no. D2.2 Dissemination level PU Work...

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology

SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

Coordination and Support Action

Grant Agreement Nr 610737

Support action for Vehicle and Road Automation network

Report on VRA Network

Deliverable no. D2.2

Dissemination level PU

Work Package no. WP2

Main author(s) Davide Brizzolara, Maxime Flament

Co-author(s) VRA Partners

Version Nr (F: final, D: draft) V1.0 F

File Name VRA_20151031_WP2_DEL2.2_v1.0.docx

Project Start Date and Duration 01 July 2013, 42 months

Ref. Ares(2015)4974225 - 10/11/2015

D2.2 – Report on VRA Network V1.0 F

VRA is an ERTICO Partnership activity 2

Document Control Sheet

Main author(s) or editor(s): Davide Brizzolara, Maxime Flament

Work area: WP2

Document title: Report on VRA Network

Version history:

Version

number

Date Main author Summary of changes

v0.1 01/09/2015 Davide Brizzolara ToC

v0.2 13/09/2015 Davide Brizzolara Chapter 5 and 6

v0.3 24/09/2015 Davide Brizzolara Updates according to the feedback of the VRA partners

v0.4 25/11/2015 Davide Brizzolara Revision of the content

v0.5 06/11/2015 Davide Brizzolara Updates of Chapter 5

v0.1 09/11/205 Davide Brizzolara Final updates

Approval:

Name Date

Prepared Davide Brizzolara, Maxime Flament 09/11/2015

Reviewed Maxime Flament 09/11/2015

Authorised Maxime Flament 09/11/2015

Circulation:

Recipient Date of submission

EC 09/11/2015

VRA consortium 09/11/2015



Table of Contents

Table of Contents 3

List of Figures 5

List of Tables 5

1 Introduction 6

1.1 Purpose of Document 6

1.2 Intended Audience 6

1.3 Structure of Document 6

1.4 VRA contractual references 6

1.5 Project Objectives 6

2 Introduction to VRA Networking Activities 8

2.1 Objective and structure of VRA WP2 8

2.2 International Collaboration 9

2.3 European Concertation 10

2.4 Information Exchange 10

3 VRA Networking Platform 11

3.1 Introduction 11

3.2 EU funded project on Automation 11

3.2.1 Introduction 11 3.2.2 CityMobil2 12 3.2.3 Adaptive 12 3.2.4 iGame 13 3.2.5 Autonet 2030 13 3.2.6 Companion 14 3.2.7 HF Auto 14 3.2.8 DAVI 15 3.2.9 Interactive 15 3.2.10 HAVEIt 15 3.2.11 CyberCars 15

3.3 IMobility Forum Automation Working Group 15

3.4 Trilateral EU-US-Japan Working Group on Automation in Road Transport 16

4 Report on VRA networking activities 18

4.1 Introduction 18

4.2 European meetings and workshops 19

4.2.1 EARPA-ERTICO meeting Automation activities (02/10/2014) 19



4.2.2 Road Transport Information and Control (RTIC) 2014 (London) (05/10/2015) 19 4.2.3 VRA - City Mobil2 Meeting (Lausanne, Swiss) (01/12/2015) 19 4.2.4 VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting (Lausanne, Swiss) (02/12/2015) 20 4.2.5 iMobility Forum Plenary (Brussels) (28/01/2014) 21 4.2.6 CityMobil2 - Socio-economic impact of road automation (30-31/04/2015) 21 4.2.7 VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting iMobility Forum Automation Working Group meeting

(28/04/2015) 22 4.2.8 VRA WP3.3 Meeting on Standardisation and Certification (Brussels) (30/06/2015) 23 4.2.9 VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting (Brussels) (01/07/2015) 23 4.2.10 “Adaptive Workshop (Paris, France) (23/09/2015) 24

4.3 International Meetings and Workshops 25

4.3.1 Michelin Bibendum Challenge (Chengdu)(11-16/11/2014) 25 4.3.2 SIP-Adus Workshop (Tokyo) (17-19/11/2014) 26 4.3.3 Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation meeting (Tokyo) (19/11/2014) 26 4.3.4 Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation meeting (Washington) (11/01/2015) 28 4.3.5 TRB (Transportation Research Board) 94rd Annual Meeting (11-15/01/2015) 30 4.3.6 Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation meeting (La Rochelle, France) (31/03-

01/04/2015) 30 4.3.7 EU-US Symposium on Automation (Washington) (14-15/04/2015) 32 4.3.8 Automated Vehicles Symposium 2015 (/07/2015) 33

5 Information Exchange 34

5.1 Introduction 34

5.2 VRA Website 34

5.3 VRA Wiki 34

5.4 Webinar 35

5.4.1 VRA Webinar 4 – “Human Factors in vehicle automation: activities in the european project adaptive” 36 5.4.2 VRA Webinar 5 - “From Advanced Active Safety Systems to Automated Systems: From interactIVe to

AdaptIVe and beyond” 37 5.4.3 VRA Webinar 6 – “Cooperative Automation: Activities in the European Project i-GAME” 37 5.4.4 VRA Webinar 7 – “Vehicle Automation: Challenges and Opportunities for Cities” 38 5.4.5 VRA Webinar 8 – “Traffic Management in the Era of Vehicle Automation and Communication

Systems (VACS)” 39 5.4.6 Planned Webinars 39

6 Partners and Associated partners 41

6.1 VRA Consortium 41

6.2 VRA Partners 43

6.3 Overview of the Associates Partners 46

7 Conclusions 57

8 Bibliography 58



List of Figures

Figure 1: Outline of the work packages of the VRA project .................................................................... 8

Figure 2: role of VRA within the Call FP7-ICT-2013-10 cluster and others ................................................ 11

Figure 3: Overview of the main areas of activities and of 2015 target ......................................................21

Figure 4: iMobility Forum Automation WG (meeting/plan 2015) .............................................................21

Figure 5: Overview of the Program of the SIP-adus Workshop ..............................................................26

Figure 6: organisation of the breakout session at the EU-US Symposium ................................................33

List of Tables

Table 1: Overview of the main Workshops and Meetings .....................................................................18

Table 2: Overview of the VRA Webinars held in the previous period (P1) .................................................35

Table 3: topic / projects selected for the next VRA Webinars .................................................................40

Table 4: key sector representation .................................................................................................41

Table 5: List of the VRA Partners (Beneficiaries and Associated Partners) ................................................44

Table 6: Tasks indicated by the associated partners of utmost importance ................................................53

Table 7: Overview of the Associated partners type of organisation..........................................................55



1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose of Document

The objective of this report is to provide an overview on the initiatives developed by VRA to

support the Network in Automation.

D2.2.1 also offers a compendium containing the achievements of different Working Group

and Partners to support the networking activities.

1.2 Intended Audience

This document is prepared for the European Commission and for relevant stakeholders in

Vehicle and Road Automation

1.3 Structure of Document

The document consists provides a short introduction to the VRA Network focusing on the its

objectives and structure, the international collaboration, the European concertation and the

information exchange.

Then a more detailed description of VRA Networking platform is offered describing relevant

initiatives and activities.

A report of the networking activities is proposed in Chapter 4 and a description of the

activities related to the Information Exchange is reported in Chapter 5.

Finally an overview of the VRA Partners is offered and the planned activities are illustrated.

1.4 VRA contractual references

VRA, Vehicle and Road Automation, is a Support Action submitted for the call FP7-ICT-2013-

10. It stands for Vehicle and Road Automation Network.

The Grant Agreement number is 610737 and project duration is 42 months, effective from 01

July 2013 until 31 December 2016. It is a contract with the European Commission (EC),

Directorate General Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG CONNECT).

The EC Project Officer is:

Myriam Coulon-Cantuer EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG CONNECT – UNIT Office BU31 06/17, B-1049 Brussels Tel: +32 (2) 29 94156 E-mail: [email protected]

1.5 Project Objectives

In the field of vehicle and road automation, VRA’s main objectives are:

To maintain an active network of experts and stakeholders

To contribute to international collaboration

mailto:[email protected]



To identify deployment needs

To promote research and deployment initiatives

In practice, VRA will:

Organise or support international meetings together with similar initiatives in US and

JPN. (WP2.1)

Support the iMobility Forum Automation WG and extend its role as a reference group

for European activities on the topic eventually formulating common positions,

especially at European level (WP2.2)

Aggregate information on existing research or deployment activities in a shared wiki

(WP2.3)

Describe valid business models and deployment paths & scenarios and investigate

the broad socio-economic implications of automation for the future societies (WP3.1)

Clarify, report and setup a plan of actions on legal, liability, insurance and regulatory

issues in different member states (WP3.2)

Monitor and steer standardisation, compliance and certification for vehicle and road

automation (WP3.3)

Contribute to the discussion on relevant topics for the deployment of Vehicle and

Road Automation: Connectivity (WP3.4), Human Factors (WP3.5), Digital

Infrastructure (WP3.6), Evaluation of Benefits (WP3.7) and Decision and Control

Algorithms (WP3.8).



2 Introduction to VRA Networking Activities

2.1 Objective and structure of VRA WP2

The VRA project (1), launched in July 2013, is a support action funded by the European

Union to create a collaboration network of experts and stakeholders working on deployment

of automated vehicles and its related infrastructure. It is considered as the cooperation

interface between EC funded projects, international relations and national activities on the

topic of vehicle and road automation.

The VRA activities provide support to two well established cooperation initiatives:

iMobility Forum Automation WG at European level: VRA gathers past and current activities to feed the needs of the iMobility Forum Automation WG which provides input for future research needs and recommendations for the EC.

Trilateral WG on Automation in Road Transport at international level VRA supports the European Commission with expert inputs for the discussions with the US Department of Transport and Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The coordination of the VRA network and of the VRA networking activities in VRA is

managed in WP2 led by ERTICO-ITS EUROPE (see Figure 1).

WP1: Management (ERT)

WP2: Networking Activities (ERT)

WP2.1 International collaboration (TNO)

WP2.2 European concertation (VOLVO)

WP2.3 Information exchange (ERT)

WP3: Deployment needs

(TECNALIA)

WP4: Dissemination (ERT)

Figure 1: Outline of the work packages of the VRA project

WP2 is structured in three different tasks and its activities are focused on the International

collaboration, the European concertation and the Information exchange.

The discussions and initiatives of WP2 are used to feed the activities in WP3 and vice versa

the needs and discussion in WP3 are considered in the planning for the activities in WP2.

One of the main missions of WP2 is to involve stakeholders and foster collaboration between

projects and activities by:

Identifying relevant activities

Identifying common partners

Proposing collaboration



o What: topics, gaps o How: Level of collaboration o When: Timeline

Making simple bilateral agreements

2.2 International Collaboration

The international collaboration, addressed in WP2.1, contributes to the creation of the

International activities through the following tasks:

1) Establish a dialogue with main international actors (EC, US DoT, MLIT)

2) Engage with other regions (US, JPN, China, Australia, others) to co-organise

international meetings

3) Agree on common issues to be addressed at international level

4) Maintain a regular exchange of information informing on each other’s progress wrt

common issues

5) Participate to main international activities in the framework of the EU-US-JPN

collaboration on automation

The previous tasks have been implemented during the first period of the VRA projects by

performing the following actions:

1) The establishment of contacts with the main international actors has been guaranteed

by the supported by the task Leader VOLVO and the other partners relying on

previous on the links of the Trilateral Automation Working Group. Reference persons

have been identified for the US DoT and MLIT. The dialogue with the EC commission

has been focused to different DG involved in activity concerning automation (DG )

promoted by:

a. Direct invitation for participating to event;

b. Periodic updates and meetings.

In line with this objective, a Workshop to report on the activities of the VRA project

has been planned in conjunction with the first Annual Review in order to inform

interested parties in the EC commission.

2) International meetings have been organised supporting the activities of the Trilateral

Working Group in collaboration with representatives of other regions

3) VRA supported the discussion on specific topics and common issues to be addressed

at international level: in particular during the Trilateral Automation Working Groups

specific activities been proposed to reach this objective (e.g. working sessions on the

topic of Digital Infrastructure).

4) The exchange of information has been supported during the meetings by planning

presentations to describe the current running activities.

5) VRA in this first period of activity participated to the initiatives organised by the

Trilateral Working Group on Automation supporting the EU-US-JPN participation.

Moreover, round table discussions on common issues have been organised during the

meetings in order to feed the WP3 discussions (e.g. discussion on the recommendations to

submit to the EC for the next H2020 calls).

WP2.1 relied on the outcome of WP2.2’s European concertation meetings since issues

brought at international level have been discussed in smaller groups in Europe from which

agreed positions emerge.



2.3 European Concertation

VRA WP2.2 supported the European Concertation, bringing the active European actors

around the table to initiate synergies and reach common positions.

The European concertation has been initiated and supported by inviting projects and parties

from European funded projects to common meetings. This task has been developed in close

collaboration with the activities of the Automation Working Group and it involved several

European Project and other relevant national Activities (see Chapter 3.2).

The outcome of the discussion was used to consolidate the working documents (e.g. the

iMobility Forum White Paper planned to be submitted by the end of 2016) and the preliminary

deliverables of WP3 on deployment paths, regulation and legal issues and standardisation

and certification. Specific breakout sessions for the different identified sub-working groups

have been proposed (e.g. Human Factors, Standardisation and Certification, Connectivity,

etc…).

The activity of WP2.2, as planned, was focused on the following point:

1) Extend the role of the Automation WG to become a concertation group for Automation

in Europe. This has been achieved by organising 3 VRA Workshops and supporting

the organisation of meetings of the Automation Working Group.

2) Plan relevant discussions and organise regular Automation WG meetings and three

wider concertation meetings. The relevant meetings are reported in Chapter 4.

3) Consult stakeholders and identify eventual barriers to deployment

4) Maintain a road map for Vehicle and Road Automation: this has been achieved by

consolidating the results of the discussion in D3.1.2 “Deployment paths for Vehicle

and Road Automation (Draft 2)”.

WP2.2 acted to bring people together on agreed positions and increase their willingness to

solve problems together in a collaborative way. The discussions promoted by WP2.2 served

as input for the Deliverables of WP3.

As mentioned in the DoW, it is eventually planned to write position papers on specific topics.

Each meeting has been documented on the VRA Website by reporting the minutes and all

the presentations.

2.4 Information Exchange

WP2.3 activities were focused on search and identify any relevant activity worldwide for

Vehicle and Road Automation and invite them to participate to the VRA network.

As planned, the WP2.3 was addressed by the following tasks:

Identify relevant VRA activities worldwide. This was achieved by the support of VRA

partners and by the international contacts mainly by presentations during the planned

meetings on the status of the current activities. The results were used to enrich the

content of the VRA Wiki

Request information and contribute to the inventory of relevant activities and contact

lists on the online information exchange tool (wiki)

Webinars in order to present the current relevant activities. Several Webinars have

been organised as reported in Chapter 5.4.



3 VRA Networking Platform

3.1 Introduction

The VRA network is based on the interaction with:

EU funded projects on Vehicle and Road Automation, mainly funded by the Call FP7-

ICT-2013-10,

The already established network and activity of the iMobility Forum Automation

Working Group,

The activity and network of the Trilateral Working Group on Automation in road

transport in the framework of the ITS US JAPAN ITS Cooperation.

3.2 EU funded project on Automation

3.2.1 Introduction

This paragraph offers an overview of the different European projects on the topic on Vehicle

and Road automation, in particular of those supported by the call FP7-ICT-2013-10. VRA

supported connection and liaisons between these projects. Several VRA partners are

involved in some relevant EC funded projects (Figure 2):

IDIADA (Companion and iGame),

VOLVO (AutoNet 2030, AdaptIvE),

TNO (AdaptIve, iGame),

University of Leeds (AdaptIvE),

ICCS (AutoNet2030, AdaptIvE),

CTL (CityMobil2).

Figure 2: role of VRA within the Call FP7-ICT-2013-10 cluster and others



3.2.2 CityMobil2

CityMobil2 (2) is a multi-stakeholder project co-funded by the EU’s Seventh Framework

Programme for research and technological development (commonly known as FP7).

CityMobil2 is setting up a pilot platform for automated road transport systems, which will be

implemented in several urban environments across Europe. Automated transport systems

are made up of vehicles operating without a driver in collective mode. They are deemed to

play a useful role in the transport mix as they can supply a good transport service (individual

or collective) in areas of low or dispersed demand complementing the main public transport

network. A dozen local authorities or equivalent sites are in the bidding to be one of the five

sites to host a 6-month demonstration. All recognise the potential of vehicle automation as

part of their public transport network. Two sets of six vehicles each for the demonstrations

will be supplied by two of the five manufacturers within the project. The project will procure

the vehicles and make them available to the selected pilot sites for the duration of the

demonstrations.

In addition to the pilot activities, research will be undertaken into the technical, financial,

cultural, and behavioural aspects and effects on land use policies and how new systems can

fit into existing infrastructure in different cities. The legal issues surrounding automated

transport will also be addressed leading to a proposed framework for certifying automated

transport systems.

CityMobil2 started in September 2012 and will run for 4 years and has 45 partners drawn

from system suppliers, city authorities (and local partners), the research community and

networking organisations. Local authorities involved in CityMobil2 have been addressed by

VRA through the CITYMOBIL2 activities and other existing contacts with cities such as, but

not limiting to, Bordeaux for the ITS world congress in 2015.

Under the framework of “CityMobil2” a workshop on “EU legal framework to certify

Automated Road Transport Systems in urban areas” workshop on ‘’EU legal framework to

certify Automated Road Transport Systems in urban areas’’ was held in Athens, Greece, on 5

May 2014. VRA supported the preparation of the Workshop and the dissemination of the

results. More information about the workshop are provided in Paragraph 4.2.10.

VRA supported a Workshop in collaboration with the project “CityMobil2” which was held in

Lausanne the 01/12/2014. The objective of this Workshop was to support the interaction

between the public authorities and other interested stakeholders and technical experts in

automation.

VRA supported the CityMobil2 project for the preparation of the Workshop on “Socio-

economic impact of road automation” held in La Rochelle the 30-31/04/2015. Several VRA

Partners participated to the working sessions organised during the Event.

3.2.3 Adaptive

The recently launched AdaptIVe (Automated Driving Applications & Technologies for

Intelligent Vehicles) (3) is an Integrated Project (IP) supported by the EU under the 7th

Framework Programme that designs, implements and evaluates a number of integrated

applications offering different levels of automated driving on motorways, in urban scenarios

and in close-distance manoeuvres.



The approach of AdaptiVe is based on a concept of shared control, assuring proper

collaboration between the driver and the automation system. This is achieved by using

advanced sensors, cooperative vehicle technologies and adaptive strategies in which the

level of automation is dynamically adapted to the situation and driver status. The project will:

Demonstrate automated driving in complex traffic environments

Focus on communication capabilities to enhance the performance of automated

systems

Provide guidelines for the implementation of cooperative controls involving both the

human and the automation

Define and validate new specific evaluation methodologies

Assess the impact of automated driving on the European road transport

Propose a legal framework overcoming the existing barriers to implementation

The VRA project coordinator, Maxime Flament, gave a presentation during the Workshop on

on legal aspects of automated driving on 17 September 20151.

3.2.4 iGame

The aim of i-Game (4) (Interoperable GCDC Automation Experience) is to speed up real-life

implementation and interoperability of wireless communication based automated driving. This

will be achieved by joint development and demonstration.

i-Game uses a two-way parallel approach to design and setup interoperable automated

driving systems, by developing a functional architecture and demonstrating it in a multivendor

challenge. First, a functional architecture will be developed. The components of the system

(like the communication and the overall supervisory control system) will be developed on

simulation level first and then tested in practice using benchmark vehicles. Second, a multi-

vendor grand cooperative driving challenge (GCDC) will be organized in the Spring of 2016,

to which teams will be invited. A series of verification and validation workshops will be

organized for the participating teams, having its climax in the final challenge on cooperative

automated driving, together with leading RTDs, and supported by OEMs and suppliers.

The activities of iGame have been presented during the European meetings organised by

VRA and a specific working session to discuss about the relevant scenarios for iGame has

been organised during the Workshop in January 2014 (paragraph 4.2.5).

The project iGame supported the 5.4.3 VRA Webinar 6 – “Cooperative Automation: Activities

in the European Project i-GAME”.

3.2.5 Autonet 2030

The European project AutoNet2030 (5) shall develop and test a co-operative automated

driving technology, based on a decentralised decision-making strategy that is enabled by

mutual information sharing among nearby vehicles. The project is aiming for a 2020-2030

1 http://www.adaptive-ip.eu/index.php/reader/experts-discuss-legal-aspects-of-automated-driving.html



deployment time horizon, taking into account the expected preceding introduction of co-

operative communication systems and sensor based lane-keeping/cruise-control

technologies. By taking this approach, a strategy can be worked out for the gradual

introduction of fully automated driving systems, which makes the best use of the widespread

existence of co-operative systems in the near-term and makes the deployment of fully

automated driving systems beneficial for all drivers already from its initial stages. The

intervehicle co-operation is meant not only among automated vehicles, but extends also to

manually driven vehicles. Drivers shall receive manoeuvring instructions on their HMI; while

the ergonomic and non-distracting nature of this new user interface shall be validated. This

system shall be optimised to make safe, predictable, and efficient manoeuvring decisions.

3.2.6 Companion

The European project Companion (6) (Cooperative Mobility solution for supervised

platooning) was launched with the aim to support platooning operations on European roads

in multiple countries mainly with the following objectives:

The project supports the development and validation of a fault tolerant, scalable off-board

decision-making system to determine the optimal coordination of platoons and of multimodal,

in-vehicle and coordination centre user interfaces to safely and effectively inform and

interact.

The project focuses on the identification of standardisation and legislative gaps and the

proposal of legal solutions and new technological standards to advance the large-scale

adoption of platooning technologies. Finally, Companion will provide a demonstration of

platooning operations on European roads in multiple countries.

Companion was launched at the end of 2013, and the official technical meeting was held in

February 2014. The activities and the status of the project have been reported during the

European meetings organised by VRA.

3.2.7 HF Auto

Road transport is an essential part of society but the burden of traffic crashes, congestion,

and pollution is enormous. Highly automated driving (HAD) has the potential to resolve these

problems and major car makers foresee that HAD will be technically ready for

commercialisation within one decade from now. However, before automated driving can be

safely deployed on public roads we have to deal with imminent human-error and legal

consequences. HFAuto will answer crucial human-factors questions, such as:

How should human-machine-interfaces (HMI) be designed to support transitions

between automated and manual control?

How can the automation understand the driver’s state and intentions?

What are the effects of HAD on accident risk and transport efficiency?

HF Auto aims to bridge the gap between engineers and psychologists through a

multidisciplinary research and training programme. The project will combine engineering

domains such as simulator hardware, traffic flow theory, control theory, and mathematical

driver modelling with psychological domains such as human action and perception, cognitive

modelling, vigilance, distraction, psychophysiology, and mode/situation awareness, to

optimally address the interdisciplinary domain of human factors. Through secondments in



automotive industry, road safety institutes, and academia, the researchers will gain

transferable knowledge of human factors, technology, and legal and marketing aspects of

HAD. http://hf-auto.eu/

3.2.8 DAVI

The Dutch Automated Vehicle Initiative develops high automated vehicles for research and

demonstrations on public roads. The research tries to proof the safety and focusses on

human factors in automated driving. DAVI implements automation technology in real cars

that can be driven on existing roads in normal traffic. At the Innovation-Relay in Amsterdam

minister Schulz Van Haegen made the first public ride in DAVI vehicle

3.2.9 Interactive

The European research project interactIVe took the next step towards the goal of accident-

free traffic. I nteractIVe developed advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for safer and

more efficient driving. interactIVe introduced safety systems that autonomously brake and

steer. The driver is continuously supported by interactIVe assistance systems. They warn the

driver in potentially dangerous situations. The systems do not only react to driving situations,

but are also able to actively intervene in order to protect occupants and vulnerable road

users. Seven demonstrator vehicles – six passenger cars of different vehicle classes and one

truck – were built up to develop, test, and evaluate the next generation of safety systems.

3.2.10 HAVEIt

HAVEit aims at the realization of the long-term vision of highly automated driving for

intelligent transport. The project will develop, validate and demonstrate important

intermediate steps towards highly automated driving.

3.2.11 CyberCars

Cybercars are road vehicles with fully automated driving capabilities. A fleet of such vehicles

forms a managed transportation system, for passengers or goods, on a network of roads with

on-demand and door-to-door capability. This concept emerged in Europe in the early 1990's

and was introduced for the first time in the Netherlands in December1997 for passenger

transport at Schipol airport. Since then, it has been developed under a number of European

projects such as CyberCars, CyberMove, EDICT, Netmobil and CyberC3 . Different projects,

also supported by the European Commission have been launched focusing on these

vehicles (e.g. CyberCars-2 and CityMobil).

3.3 IMobility Forum Automation Working Group

The iMobility Forum Automation WG is a public/private partnership acting as a forum for

understanding the state of the art of Automation in Road Transport, exploring and promoting

the potential of highly automated vehicles and applications for intelligent and sustainable

mobility. It provides as well a clear direction for the challenges of the future, defining the

research topics in the field of automation in transport.

The mission of the working group on Automation in Road Transport is to identify how

automation and its subsequent applications can help to improve efficient, clean, safe and

reliable road transport now and in the future and what is needed to foster deployment and

implementation. To be more specific the working group focussed its activities on the common

http://hf-auto.eu/



agreement on developing one or more roadmaps for future developments in the area of

automation in road transport.

The activity of the Automation Working Group (launched in 2011) is now planned around

different Working Groups corresponding to relevant research topics such as:

Digital Infrastructure

Human Factors

Evaluation of Benefits

Connectivity

Roadworthiness Testing

Decision and Control Algorithms

Regulatory issues

Development path

In the activities of the group, it has been agreed to take into account mainly 3 explanatory

use cases: highway truck platooning, highway autopilot, intelligent intersection control. The

near-term objective is to provide a few recommendations and results be included in the

future roadmap.

The The Automation Working Group provide to the European Commission recommendation

for the preparation of the next European calls in 2015 and 2016.

The Automation Working Group was supported by VRA in the preparation of a White Paper

on Automation which will be submitted by the end of 2016.

3.4 Trilateral EU-US-Japan Working Group on Automation in Road Transport

trilateral EU-US-JP Automation in Road Transportation Working Group has been established

to support the cooperation between Europe, United States and Japan on the topic of

Automation.

The trilateral Working Group focuses on automated operation involving all road users, within

a connected environment, for broad information sharing and focused collaboration across the

regions. The working group exchanges and discuss views and perspectives on relevant

topics in the area of vehicle and road transport automation that apply to the role of public

authorities with all stakeholders, to disseminate the state-of-the art and to define needs for

harmonization and standardization in order to support international developments and

deployment.

The objective and goal of the Vehicle Automation Working Group can be summarised as

follows:

1) Goal: Identify, research, quantify, and evaluate applications that would improve the

operation of Connected Road Vehicle Automation



2) Objective: Coordinate research on the development of Connected Road Vehicle

Automation technologies and concepts that facilitate deployment and market uptake

The activity of the Trilateral Working Groups continues on the following areas of cooperation:

Digital infrastructure: to identify the role of digital maps for automation

Human factors: to identify solutions for driver and other road user interactions

Roadworthiness Testing: to define the necessary or appropriate tests required to

allow the safe and reliable operation of automated vehicles on public roads

Evaluation of Impact – Impact assessment: to establish a unified list of potential direct

and indirect socio economic impacts ,and jointly try to quantify them

Accessible transport

Legal Issues (ad hoc): to monitor the activities in the different regions

The Trilateral Working Group meeting are reported in Chapter 0.



4 Report on VRA networking activities

4.1 Introduction

This chapter reports the meetings and Workshops directly organised by the VRA project or

the initiatives where VRA was involved.

Table 1 offers a preliminary overview of the initiatives at international and European level

which are described in details in the next paragraphs.

Table 1: Overview of the main Workshops and Meetings

Nr. Date Type of

activity Events VRA rule

1 02/10/2014 European EARPA-ERTICO meeting Automation activities (Brussels)

Participant

2 05/10/2014 European Road Transport Information and Control (RTIC) 2014 (London)

Participant

3 11-16/11/2014 International Michelin Bibendum Challenge (Chengdu, China)

Co-organiser

4 17-19/11/2014 International SIP-Adus Workshop (Tokyo) Co-organiser

5 19/11/2014 International Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation meeting (Tokyo)

Co-Organiser

6 01/12/2014 European VRA - City Mobil2 Meeting (Lausanne, Swiss)

Co-Organiser

7 02/12/2014 European VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting (Lausanne, Swiss)

Organiser

8 11/01/2015 International Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation meeting (Washington)

Co-organiser

9 11-15/01/2015 International TRB annual meeting (Washington) Participant

10 28/01/2015 European iMobility Forum Plenary (Brussels) Participant

11 23/03/2015 European Regulatory Needs Meeting (Brussels)

Participant

12 30-31/03/2015 European CityMobil2 Meeting (La Rochelle, France)

Co-organiser

13 31/03-01/04/2015

International Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation meeting (La Rochelle, France)

Organiser

14 14-15/04/2015 International EU-US Symposium (Washington) Participant

15 28-04-2015 European VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting ( Brussels)

Organiser

16 30-06-2015 European VRA WP3.3 Meeting on Standardisation and Certification

Co-organiser

17 01-07-2015 European VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting (Brussels)

Organiser

18 07/2015 International Automated Vehicle Symposium (Ann Arbor, USA)

Participant



19 23-24/07/2015 International Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation meeting (Ann Arbor,USA)

Co-organiser

20 17/09/2015 European Adaptive Workshop (Paris, France) Participant

21 23/09/2015 European VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting Organiser

22 24/09/2015 European VRA Consortium Meeting Participant

23 04/10/2015 International International Task Force on Vehicle and Highway Automation (ITFVHA) (Bordeaux, France)

Co-organiser

24 05-09/10/2015 International ITS World Congress (Bordeaux, France)

Organiser of several initiatives during the Congress

4.2 European meetings and workshops

This paragraph offers a short overview of the main meetings and workshops organised by

VRA and of the initiatives where VRA participated.

4.2.1 EARPA-ERTICO meeting Automation activities (02/10/2014)

The VRA project coordinator gave a presentation on the VRA and iMobility Forum WG

activities focusing on:

- Hot topics discussed in the sub-WGs of the iMobility WG

- Role of VRA as facilitator for collaboration between national and EU-funded activities

- Roadmap developed by the iMobility Forum

4.2.2 Road Transport Information and Control (RTIC) 2014 (London)

(05/10/2015)

The VRA project coordinator gave a presentation on the VRA and iMobility Forum WG

activities focusing on:

- Structure and objectives of VRA

- Hot topics discussed in the sub-WGs of the iMobility WG

- Roadmap developed by the iMobility Forum

4.2.3 VRA - City Mobil2 Meeting (Lausanne, Swiss) (01/12/2015)

VRA supported a Workshop in collaboration with the project “CityMobil2” which was held in

Lausanne the 01/12/2014. The objective of this Workshop was to support the interaction

between the public authorities and other interested stakeholders and technical experts in

automation.

During the Workshop the following topics were discussed:

1) An update of the CityMobil2 activities



2) The vision on automated road transport systems of different cities (e.g. Vantaa and

La Rochelle) along with the view of road vehicle automation from selected Group

members (e.g. Milton Keynes, Helmond and Barcelona)

3) An overview on the VRA Coordination and Support Action activities including two

sessions on:

a. “Automation technologies” (focusing in European and international activities)

moderated by the VRA Partners TNO (Bastiaan Krosse) with the participation

of Richard Bishop (Bishop Consultant, US) and Paul Tan (ST Engineering,

Singapore)

b. “Towards a legal framework for the deployment of Automated Urban

Transport Systems” moderated by the VRA Coordinator Maxime Flament

(ERTICO – ITS Europe) with the participation of Michel Parent (INRIA), Steve

Shladover (CA Path, US) and Arjan van Vliet (RDW)

The meeting was ended by a panel discussion on the following topic: ”The role of automation

in Europe’s urban mobility of the future – which services and infrastructure?”.

All the presentations of the Workshop are available on the VRA Website at the following

address: http://vra-net.eu/news/010122014-vra-citymobil2-reference-group-workshop/

4.2.4 VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting (Lausanne, Swiss) (02/12/2015)

VRA also supported the organisation of the Automation Working Group meeting which was

held the 02/12/2014. During this meeting the activities of the Automation Working Group to

be organised in collaboration with VRA have been discussed (http://vra-

net.eu/news/02122014-imobility-forum-automation-wg-meeting-lausanne-swiss/).

An overview of the planned activities and actions is provided in Figure 3.

http://vra-net.eu/news/010122014-vra-citymobil2-reference-group-workshop/

http://vra-net.eu/news/02122014-imobility-forum-automation-wg-meeting-lausanne-swiss/

http://vra-net.eu/news/02122014-imobility-forum-automation-wg-meeting-lausanne-swiss/



Figure 3: Overview of the main areas of activities and of 2015 target

During the meeting held in Lausanne (02/12/2014) the main activities of WP3 have been

discussed in collaboration with the iMobility Forum. The meeting and the main actions have

been summarised in slide reported in Figure 4.

Figure 4: iMobility Forum Automation WG (meeting/plan 2015)

The minutes and the presentations of the first concertation workshop are available on the

VRA website2.

4.2.5 iMobility Forum Plenary (Brussels) (28/01/2014)

The main objective of this meeting was to exchange expert knowledge on specific issues on

automation. The minutes and the presentations these concertation workshops are available

on the iMobilityForum website3.

4.2.6 CityMobil2 - Socio-economic impact of road automation (30-

31/04/2015)

VRA supported the CityMobil2 project for the preparation of the Workshop on “Socio-

economic impact of road automation” held in La Rochelle the 30-31/04/2015. Several VRA

Partners participated to the working sessions organised during the Event. During the first

day, the following topics were discussed:

- global/local economy and jobs (ECONOMY);

2 1st Concertation Workshop (agenda, minutes and presentations) available on VRA website:

http://vra-net.eu/news/602

3 VRA concertation workshop (23/01/2014) (agenda, minutes and presentations) available on VRA

website: http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-consortium-meeting-ertico-its-europe-23-january-2014/

http://vra-net.eu/news/602

http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-consortium-meeting-ertico-its-europe-23-january-2014/



- road capacity, transport quality and congestion (TRANSPORT);

- road safety, security/privacy and quality of life (SOCIETY);

- energy, land consumption and environment (ENVIRONMENT).

Maxime Flament (ERTICO) and Adriano Alessandrini (CTL) chaired the section on energy,

land consumption and environment.

During the second day, parallel working sessions were held to discuss the different

stakeholders’ perspectives/roadmaps to achieve desirable and sustainable driverless urban

transport scenarios. In particular the following: automotive industries; other private service

operators (e.g. insurances, commercial car sharing providers, taxi etc.); public authorities

and operators (local authorities, public transport operators); urban freight transport

stakeholders.

The final report consolidating the results of the discussions is planned to be released in May

2015.

The discussions held during the Workshop will feed the activities of VRA WP3.7 (according to

planned contract amendment).

4.2.7 VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting iMobility Forum Automation

Working Group meeting (28/04/2015)

During the VRA – iMobility Forum meeting organised the 28/04/2015, the main points of the

Agenda were the following:

1) White paper on Automation. The main objective of the White Paper has been identified: report to the EU about currents needs to influence policies and calls. It has been also noted the importance to highlight the activities in the EU vs. USA and Japan and to consider the relation with the VRA deliverables to consolidate the work. In addition it has been defined the activity for each of the different sub-working group taking into account a template provided by the i-Mobility Forum co-chair. During the meeting few groups have been organised to provide a preliminary contribution to each of the sub-working group chapters.

2) Discussion on previous events:

City Mobil 2 Workshop in La Rochelle. Final results of the Workshop will be

published and there will be a feedback for the audience.

Workshop on Legal Needs: the minutes are available on the iMobility Forum

website (http://www.imobilitysupport.eu/library/imobility-forum/working-

groups/active/legal-issues/meetings-8/2015-5/23-mar-2015)

EU-US Symposium (Washington 14-15 April 2015) (see the short summary

proposed in the previous paragraph)

3) Planning of the next Events:

a. Workshop on standardisation and certification (IDIADA) supported by IDIADA,

to organise a meeting between the relevant experts in the different FP7 Call

10 projects (Companion, Adaptive, iGAME, Autonet2030). This workshop

should show the rest of the projects their activities in standardization and

http://www.imobilitysupport.eu/library/imobility-forum/working-groups/active/legal-issues/meetings-8/2015-5/23-mar-2015

http://www.imobilitysupport.eu/library/imobility-forum/working-groups/active/legal-issues/meetings-8/2015-5/23-mar-2015



identify potential overlaps or gaps that may encourage coordination between

the projects.

b. ITS World Congress (Bordeaux): Special Interest Sessions and Stakeholders

Workshops.

A preliminary version of the White Paper has been circulated to all the iMobilityForum

Automation WG after the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting are available on Projectplace at the following link:

https://service.projectplace.com/pp/pp.cgi/0/1123725892

The minutes and the presentations of the first concertation workshop are available on the

VRA website4.

4.2.8 VRA WP3.3 Meeting on Standardisation and Certification (Brussels)

(30/06/2015)

This meeting has been organised by VRA WP3 and the main results are reported in VRA

WP3.3 - D3.2.2.

4.2.9 VRA – iMobility Forum WG Meeting (Brussels) (01/07/2015)

In order to progress with the elaboration of the White Paper an additional meeting has been

organised the 01/07/2015 at ERTICO in Brussels.

The meeting has been organised to discuss the following points:

1) White paper on Automation: the preliminary version of the White Paper has been presented by Bastiaan Krosse. It has been noted that the White Paper could be considered as a support to provide an overview of the expected projects and outcome that should be proposed under the next calls on Automation proposed by the European Commission. The current version of the White Paper has been discussed by all the participants and comments have been added to the document. As in the previous meeting the activity, separated working groups have created to discuss the different topics (listed below are indicated the sub-working groups with the Leaders):

a) Connectivity (Panagiotis Lytrivis, ICCS)

b) Roadworthiness Testing (Alvaro Arrue, IDIADA)

c) Regulatory Needs (Maxime Flament, ERTICO

d) Human Factors (Johann Kelsch, DLR)

e) Decision and Control Algorithms (Daniel Hess, DLR)

2) Report on the Workshop on Standardisation activities organised by IDIADA (30/06/2015)

3) Report from previous events and project activities:

4 11st Automation Working Group meeting (24/01/2014) (agenda, minutes and presentations) available

on VRA website: http://vra-net.eu/news/11th-automation-working-group-meeting-24-january-2014/

https://service.projectplace.com/pp/pp.cgi/0/1123725892

http://vra-net.eu/news/11th-automation-working-group-meeting-24-january-2014/



a) NordicWay project whose basic idea is to use existing mobile networks for

low-latency and localized V2V/V2I communication (between Finland and

Sweden)

b) Finnish single window authority contact point related to automated vehicle

tests (at the Finnish Transport Safety Agency)

c) Updates on the activities of Adaptive

The minutes and the presentations of they are available on the iMobility Support website5.

4.2.10 “Adaptive Workshop (Paris, France) (23/09/2015)

AdaptIVe held a project workshop on legal aspects of automated driving on 17 September

2015 at Federation of French Car Manufacturers in Paris, France.

The presentations of well-known speakers – being legal or industry experts and

representatives from authorities – outlined challenges and solutions for legal questions

related to automated driving.

Wolfgang Höfs, Head of Sector Strategic Planning and Communication, European

Commission, emphasised the high expectations of the European Commission towards the

project to advance in the field of legal aspects of automated driving. A technical state of the

art and a look at the solutions coming out of the project was then provided by AdaptIVe

Coordinator Aria Etemad, Volkswagen AG and Eric Hilgendorf, Professor of Law, University

of Würzburg. Afterwards, the status of the legal aspects in the European Union and in the

United States was presented by Maxime Flament, ERTICO – ITS Europe as representative

of Vehicle and Road Automation (VRA) and Bryant Walker Smith, Assistant Professor of Law,

University of South Carolina.

The minutes and the presentations of the workshop are available on the official Adaptive

website6.

5 iMobility Plenary meeting (agenda, minutes and presentations) available on the iMobility Support

website: http://www.imobilitysupport.eu/library/imobility-forum/plenary-meetings/2014-7/4th-meeting-

9/29-april-2014

6 http://www.adaptive-ip.eu/index.php/reader/experts-discuss-legal-aspects-of-automated-driving.html

http://www.imobilitysupport.eu/library/imobility-forum/plenary-meetings/2014-7/4th-meeting-9/29-april-2014

http://www.imobilitysupport.eu/library/imobility-forum/plenary-meetings/2014-7/4th-meeting-9/29-april-2014



4.3 International Meetings and Workshops

In this session, the International meetings and Workshops organised by VRA support action

or the international initiatives where VRA participated are listed.

Mainly they include the activities organised for the ITS World Congress (organised annually

in different region of the world – Asia, Australia, Europe or America), the participation to the

Trilateral Working Group on automation (see Chapter 3.4) and the involvement in the

activities of the Transportation Research Board, briefly described in the next lines.

Transportation Research Board (TRB is one of six major divisions of the National Research

Council— a private, non-profit institution that is the principal operating agency of the National

Academies in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and

engineering communities. As detailed in the official website (7), “The mission of the TRB is to

promote innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and

interdisciplinary setting, TRB facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice

and policy by researchers and practitioners; stimulates research and offers research

management services that promote technical excellence; provides expert advice on

transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research results broadly and

encouraged their implementation”. TRB organises annual meeting which cover all

transportation modes, with more than 4500 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and

workshops. VRA Support action, as detailed in the next paragraphs, was involved in several

initiatives of the TRB.

4.3.1 Michelin Bibendum Challenge (Chengdu)(11-16/11/2014)

VOLVO (Joakim Svensson) and CTL (Adriano Alessandrini) participated to the Workshop

“Advanced Driving Assistance Systems to Full Autonomous Vehicles: Milestones” in the

context of the “MICHELIN CHALLENGE BIBENDUM” (http://vra-net.eu/michelin-challenge-

bibendum-workshop-advanced-driving-assistance-systems-to-full-autonomous-vehicles-

milestones/) organised in Chengdu, China (11-15/11/2014). VRA supported the preparation

of this round table on deployment of Highly Automated Driving (HAD) interacting with

MICHELIN finalise the list of participants.

VRA took the opportunity of this meeting to reach out to high level decision makers beyond

Japan and US. In particular representatives of the project participated to the Workshop #6

(ADAS to Autonomous vehicle).

During the Workshop several aspects related to Vehicle and Road Automation were

discussed. The following challenges have been identified by the participants as the most

relevant:

Regulatory/legal framework, Liability, Safety, Validation, Cybersecurity, Privacy,

International harmonization, Big data framework

For level 3: human factors – need for a “shared control”? “driver in a concentrated

condition”?

For level 4: 3D connected maps availability

For level 4: implement automation to increase lane capacity and to minimize impact

on the travel demand & energy use

http://vra-net.eu/michelin-challenge-bibendum-workshop-advanced-driving-assistance-systems-to-full-autonomous-vehicles-milestones/





4.3.2 SIP-Adus Workshop (Tokyo) (17-19/11/2014)

VRA participated to the “SIP-adus Workshop on Connected and Automated Driving Systems”

organised in Tokyo (17-18/11/2014) (http://vra-net.eu/sip-adus-workshop-on-connected-and-

automated-driving-systems-tokyo-17-18-nov-2014/). The main topics, discussed in the

Workshop, are listed in Figure 5 which offers an overview of the Program.

Figure 5: Overview of the Program of the SIP-adus Workshop

4.3.3 Trilateral Automation Working Group in Road Transportation

meeting (Tokyo) (19/11/2014)

The Trilateral Automation Working Group meeting was held the 19/11/2015 in the same

venue of the SIP-ADUS Workshop.

The main topics discussed were:

1) Digital Infrastructure

a. “Digital Map” was presented as a good example of the Digital Infrastructure by

Jun Shibata (MLIT)

b. “ADASIS” was presented by Maxime Flament (ERTICO – ITS Europe)

c. a “Proposed Concept of Operation” was presented by Carl Andersen (US

DoT)

2) News from each region an discussion, including the status of research programs

3) The structure of the “Master Document/Internal Report” that should be used to keep

trace of the activity of the Trilateral WG.

4) The next SIP International Workshop

http://vra-net.eu/sip-adus-workshop-on-connected-and-automated-driving-systems-tokyo-17-18-nov-2014/

http://vra-net.eu/sip-adus-workshop-on-connected-and-automated-driving-systems-tokyo-17-18-nov-2014/



Digital Infrastructure

This meeting theme ‘Digital Infrastructure’ included the following presentations:

Digital Map (1) was presented as a good example of the Digital Infrastructure (Jun Shibata) .

Questions, discussion and comment were:

technologies and their positioning-accuracy technology was used only for test

vehicles. GNSS does not provide the required accuracy for lane positioning. GPS,

GLONASS, and camera were discussed.

A reflection problem exists with GPS in metropolitan environment (Japan rep)

positioning accuracy enhancement activities - research is underway. DRM is

quintessentially provided as infrastructure for a whole nation. The term ‘sidewalk’ in

geometric feature includes all regarding road side features (Japan rep)

TC204 WG3 scope and stand –the current status to deal with emerging features was

explained and discussed. WG3 currently does not include emerging features in

location reference (Japan rep)

European map maker status explained –map makers are reluctant to link with

standardization due to issues including patent cost or market demand (EU rep)

What is expected for auto makers - information sharing through cooperation (US rep)

Some information from the SIP presentations was provided in this group meeting. The

status quo of information sharing between the public and private (auto maker and

map providers) in three regions was discussed, and on-going competitiveness in

business field was noted.

What the public can contribute for map creation and what the public can do through

the cooperation with private industry was discussed

‘ADASIS’ was presented (Maxime Flament). Questions, discussion and comments were:

An issue in Europe is ‘data border line’ between the field for common and for the

private competitiveness. The field for cooperation needs to be identified (EU rep)

Understanding of the interface is needed in order to provide required data for

connected vehicles or automated vehicles. The ADASIS interface and V2I use case

helps to identify what data the public should provide to the map makers (US rep)

Since map maintenance cost is very high, a flexible operation concept which can

cover three regional differences in Digital Map Infrastructure is needed (US rep)

When information provided to the ERTICO members is transferred to the non-

members, compliance to the stipulated specifications is required, which is posted on

Internet (EU rep)

The first application implemented was for commercial vehicles, due to potential

market scale (EU rep)

“Proposed Concept of Operation” was presented (Carl Andersen)

Data requirements become significant as migration progresses from manual to

automated vehicle operation, requiring locally provided data to the data provided at

network level (US rep)

‘Table 4 Rough Mapping of Application Areas to digital Map Data element’, which

illustrates data elements and applications relations to indicate fundamental and



conceptual direction, is moving forward. Any comments or feedback is needed on this

(US rep)

Static data and dynamic data can provide images in advance. Before actual driving,

those images allow drivers to prepare for the upcoming situation. Tactical or strategic

driving becomes possible with those images (US and EU reps)

In order to provide flexible supports for those data use in three regions, taking

leadership by this group was recommended (US rep)

As for a start toward this end, data ownership should be identified in our three regions

and need of cooperation for flexible supports is highlighted (US rep)

News from each region and discussion, including status of research programs.

‘Support action for Vehicle and Road Automation network, VRA’ was presented

(Joakim Svensson):

The ‘Scientific Research’ described in the paper is connected with VRA activities.

Research questions will be identified and each individual activity name will be clearly

described in the plan (EU rep)

Evaluation plans in each region were introduced together with VRA (EU rep).

The US 5 year plan for benefit evaluation has just started and will continue till 2019

(US rep)

Japan has not organized detailed work force plan for road map; however, the output

will be identified in the end of fiscal year (Japan rep)

Demonstration is implemented to assess the benefits, which should include broader

reviews such as economical, land use or environmental aspects. Since benefits

embrace problems, (impacts including plus and minus sides). A specific way to lead

automation to bring benefits should be identified (EU rep)

The need to organize an expert meeting for assessment was proposed to understand

assessment methods to be used and their impacts (EU rep)

Safety impact will be focused on first (US rep)

Japan also can contribute in the areas (Japan rep)

Take action to move forward the assessment methodology

To understand impacts of automation promptly is critical in order to give policy-

makers a tool to understand what automation allows or not (EU rep)

Setting up an evaluation program in US-Japan project was recommended (US rep)

Automation Program’ was presented (Kevin Dopart) Technical items I2V and V2V on

cooperative form basis are clearly divided, and in this context, Automatic cruise

control and speed harmonization need to be used with care (US rep)


meeting (Washington) (11/01/2015)

In Q7, the international collaboration was mainly focused on the activity of the “Trilateral EU-

US-Japan Working Group on Automation in Road Transport” in short ART WG. From the

European side, three EC DGs participate in the ART WG and work cooperatively on

automation issues of shared interest: Directorate General (DG) for Communications



Networks, Content and Technology (CONNECT), DG Research and Innovation (RTD), and

DG Mobility and Transport (MOVE). The EU stakeholders contributions within the ART WG

have been mainly supported by the iMobility Forum Automation WG and the VRA support

action. In January 2015, Maxime Flament, ERTICO, has been nominated “European co-

chair” of the trilateral EU-US-Japan Working Group on Automation in Road Transport in short

“ART WG”.

The Trilateral ART WG activities are mainly organised around the following six areas that has

been agreed as candidates for more focused efforts:

a) Human Factors

b) Evaluation of Benefits & Impacts

c) Digital Infrastructure

d) Connectivity

e) Roadworthiness Testing

Also, Cyber-security is mentioned but other cooperation groups such as HTG6 are currently

working on the topic.

During Q7 two meetings were held in Washington (11/01/2015) and in La Rochelle (31/03–

01/04/2015). The Agenda reviewed the status of the collaboration areas.

In the Trilateral ART WG held in Washington, January 2015, the following points have been

discussed:

- Regional updates from the different regions (USA, Japan and Europe)

- The structure of the internal record document that will be used to keep trace of the

activity of the trilateral ART WG

- The status of the activity on Digital Infrastructure, considering the points of

discussion mentioned in the previous meeting in Tokyo and a presentation of the

updated draft USDOT White Paper.

- The Evaluation Framework for Automated Vehicle Operations

- The Connected/Automated Vehicle Research Roadmap for the American

Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials undertaken with the

objective of identifying and prioritizing CV/AV research needs.

- The planning of the activity for the Bordeaux ITS World Congress (in particular the

plan of the Special Interest Session to be submitted for the ITS World Congress in

October 2015).

Both EC DG RTD and DG MOVE were represented in the meeting.

In particular, during the discussion on the Evaluation Framework, the possibility of

harmonisation between the activities of the different areas has been foreseen. USDOT has

started a project “Estimation of Benefits for Automated Vehicle Systems”, led by Scott Smith,

aiming to provide US DoT with a framework to estimate the potential safety, mobility, energy

and environmental benefits with the main objectives to identify metrics, develop a framework



for quantifying the impacts, provide a high order assessment of the state of the knowledge

and incorporate current research by other parties.

4.3.5 TRB (Transportation Research Board) 94rd Annual Meeting (11-

15/01/2015)

VRA support action participated with some speakers to the TRB 94rd Annual Meeting held in

Washington (11-15/01/2014).


meeting (La Rochelle, France) (31/03-01/04/2015)

In April 2015 (31/03/2015 – 01/04/2015), in La Rochelle,a meeting of the trilateral EU-US-

JPN ART WG, was organised. The focus was to discuss the status and the planning of the

activities for the collaboration areas: Human Factors, Evaluation of Benefits & Impacts,

Digital Infrastructure, and Roadworthiness Testing.

During the first day, some regional updates were provided. An overview of the new project

launched in the UK was presented: GATEway (Greenwich) led by TRL, UK Autodrive (Milton

Keynes/Coventry) led by Arup and Venturer (Bristol) led by Atkins. Deidre O’Really gave a

presentation on the new activities on the regulatory framework and the Code of Practice

published in 2015 in the UK.

A specific session on the Evaluation of Benefits for Automated systems with the presentation

of the activity undertaken by the USA and in particular focused on setting the different

framework elements (Safety, Vehicle Mobility, Energy/Environmental, Regional Mobility,

Transportation System Usage, Accessibility, Land Use, and Economic Analysis) was

organised. Then the FESTA methodology used for conducting Field Operational Tests was

illustrated as a basis for developing a methodology for the evaluation of automation. Yvonne

Barnard (ERTICO) focused on the needs for the evaluation methodology and she illustrated

some requirements. It has been agreed to strength the efforts in order to define a

harmonised framework for the evaluation of benefits. A dedicated meeting will be organised

at the AUVSI/TRB symposium in Ann Arbor (July 2015).

Alvaro Arrue (IDIADA) gave a presentation on the topic “Roadworthiness testing:

Standardisation and certification needs (Alvaro Arrue)” and it was agreed that the WG would

take a specific case study (e.g. platooning) and try to define what is missing for

standardisation and certification.

For Human Factors, it has been agreed that the current EU-US Driver Distraction/HMI WG

would address jointly the human factors of automated vehicles.

For Legal Needs, Maxime Flament provided some updates on the recent activity of the VRA

WP3.2 also reporting on the iMobility Forum Legal Issue held in Brussels the 23/03/2015.

Finally in the section on Digital Infrastructure Carl Andersen presented his proposed survey

“Digital Geospatial Infrastructure for Cooperative and Automated Vehicles” and Ahmed Nasr

discussed in his presentation the current activities in Europe.

As additional points of discussion: Angelos Amditis (ICCS) gave a presentation on his holistic

approach for Automated Transport Systems focusing on the need to bring all the elements

around transport; Richard Bishop (Bishop Consultant) with Bastiaan Krosse (TNO) discussed

some results on-going projects on truck platooning in the Netherlands and in the USA;



Matthieu Graindorge (City of La Rochelle) gave a presentation on the CityMobil2-La

Rochelle’s demo. The Japanese delegation provided an update on the status of the activities

of the SIP-adus illustrating the major development themes of the activities in Japan.

The minutes of the meeting have been circulated and available for the participants of the

working Group.

The minutes of the trilateral ART WG meeting are collected and integrated in common

document, indicated as Internal Report which is updated after every meeting. The

presentations and the minutes are shared among the VRA Consortium and the trilateral ART

participants. They are considered for internal use only.

During the meeting in La Rochelle the following structure of the Working Groups have been

agreed. Two new sub-groups (1) Evaluation and (2) Accessible Transport have been created.

It has been agreed to discuss common ground related to roadworthiness testing (EU) and

validation and verification (US). It has been agreed that the existing Driver Distraction/Human

Machine Interface Working Group will shift its agenda to Human Factors of Automated

Vehicles and work with members of the EU VRA Human Factors Working Group.

In synthesis:

Accessible Transport: The US proposal was accepted for a trilateral subgroup addressing

accessible transportation.

US Co-Chair: Mohammed Yousef, USDOT Federal Highway Administration

Japan Co-Chair: Mark Yawamoto, Toyota/SIP-adus

EU Co-Chair : Adriano Alessandrini, CityMobil2

Evaluation: The USDOT draft “Benefits Assessment Framework” was presented and

discussed, followed by a presentation of the EU FOT evaluation guide. It was agreed that a

new trilateral subgroup would form with the objective of harmonizing the high level evaluation

framework for assessing the impact of automation in road transportation. The first meeting

will be held in Ann Arbor, proximal to AVS15.

US Co-Chair: Scott Smith, USDOT Volpe Center

EU Co-Chair: Innamaa Satu, VTT

Japan Co-Chair: T. Uchimura, MLIT

Roadworthiness testing and certification: Agreed that we will bring this area forward for

consideration by a bilateral and possibly trilateral subgroup.

US lead: Cem Hatipoglu and Frank Barickman, NHTSA

EU lead: Alvaro Arrue, IDIADA and Francois Fischer, ERTICO

Japan may bring someone forward to participate in this subgroup; please copy Mr.

Kanoshima in correspondence for now

Human factors: Agreed that the current EU-US Driver Distraction/HMI WG will migrate to

address human factors of automated vehicles. The Japan representatives at the meeting

said that they hope to make it a trilateral WG. Leadership of the current DD/HMI WG will



need to accommodate additional participants, possibly new co-chairs from EU, and a new

co-chair from Japan, if Japan is able to participate.

Current DD/HMI Co-Chairs: Chris Monk, NHTSA, Johan Engstrom, Volvo

Japan Co-Chair: K. Unoura, MLIT

Digital Infrastructure: Carl Andersen presented the proposed survey “Digital Geospatial

Infrastructure for Cooperative and Automated Vehicles” and it was agreed that all WG

participants should contribute contact information so that the survey could be targeted to an

international group of respondents. ERTICO will host the survey.

US Co-Chair: Carl Andersen, FHWA

EU Co-Chair: Ahmed Nasr, HERE and Maxime Flament, ERTICO

Japan Co-Chair: Dr. Jun Shibata, JDRMA

Legal Issues: The EU will continue to share information on their activities and invite US

observers when possible, but is uncertain about the value of launching a legal subgroup.

US correspondent Ellen Partridge, USDOT

EU correspondent Maxime Flament, ERTICO

4.3.7 EU-US Symposium on Automation (Washington) (14-15/04/2015)

The VRA project coordinator Maxime Flament and Natasha Merat (University of Leeds) have

contributed to the preparation of the “EU-US Symposium on Automation”, organised in the

framework of the initiative “European-US Transportation Research Symposia” to discuss and

compare on-going research topic or theme areas.

The “EU-US Symposium on Automation” was held in Washington (14/04/2015 - 15/04/2015)

and the participation was on invitation only. The project coordinator of VRA was involved as

one of the European Member of the European Selection Committee

During the Symposium the following point has been discussed: “What are the

complementary roles and responsibilities of the actors in a Public-Private ecosystem needed

to drive the evolution of the automated vehicles towards a 21th century mobility system

(integrating and optimising vehicle, user, and infrastructure)?”



The activity was organised in break-out sessions (as detailed in Figure 6)

Figure 6: organisation of the breakout session at the EU-US Symposium

Maxime Flament, after the participation to the Symposium, reported the main conclusions to

the audience.

Main points identified as “Do it now”: Test, Beds, FOTs, Model deployment,

Best practice guide, cases studies for deployment, Reuse of FOT data, Collect

data from the field after deployment

Human Factors: Acceptance, HMI for L3, Interactions with VRU, HMI for

pedestrians, Behavioural norms, Safe Stops

Legal: Rules of (safe) operation, Code of Practice for development of AV,

Testing regime (Verification – Validation – Certification), Minimum standards /

Performance, Certification of infrastructure (Phy and Digital), Standards,

Liabilities, Licensing

Impact: Socio-economic impacts, Impact evaluation methodology, Business

models, Usefulness for cities / public authorities

Technology: Sensors, Robustness, Need for V2V/I2V, Technical

requirements, Performance requirements, Needs for Maps, Value of Data

4.3.8 Automated Vehicles Symposium 2015 (/07/2015)

The VRA project coordinator Maxime Flament and Natasha Merat (University of Leeds) have

contributed to the preparation of the “EU-US Symposium on Automation”, organised in the

framework of the initiative “European-US Transportation Research Symposia” to discuss and

compare on-going research topic or theme areas. The “EU-US Symposium on Automation”

will be held in Washington (14/04/2015 - 15/04/2015) and the participation is on invitation

only. Information about this meeting are available on the official website7

7 http://2014.vehicleautomation.org/breakout-sessions

http://2014.vehicleautomation.org/breakout-sessions



5 Information Exchange

5.1 Introduction

As anticipated in Chapter 2.4, one of the objectives of the VRA networking activity is to

search and identify any relevant activity worldwide for Vehicle and Road Automation. In

Chapter 5, the main results of WP2.3 are presented considering the different tools that have

been developed in collaboration with WP4.

5.2 VRA Website

VRA’s website (www.vra-net.eu), described in D4.4.1, is considered as the main

dissemination tool for all news concerning the VRA project.

The Website is used to support the VRA Network and also the exchange of information. In

particular, during the first period of the project the VRA website was used for:

Disseminate the latest VRA-related news on campaigns, achievements, meetings

and events: more than 25 news have been published on events organised by VRA or

relevant initiatives during P2.

Share presentations, reports and any other material to report on the discussion which

took place in the VRA Network activities: stakeholders’ workshop, international

workshops and seminars: all the public presentation and minutes concerning previous

meetings and workshop have been made available according the procedures

described in D4.4.1.

The networking activity was also promoted by listing the activity of the different Discussion

Group and sub-working group in a specific page on the VRA Website8.

5.3 VRA Wiki

In addition, WP2.3 has progressed in the collection of information about existing projects and

studies on Automation from different regions in the world: US DoT and the MLIT supported

the moderation of the Wiki and provided some additional information on their project

integrated in the wiki catalogue of activities by the VRA project coordinator.

During P2, several European Projects or initiatives (e.g. European Truck Platooning

Challenge 2016, FURBOT, CATS, ISI-PADAS, UnCoVerCPS, PEIT, PICAV, GAIN) and also

new launched national projects (e.g. UK DfT Feasibility Study for Heavy Vehicle Platoons on

UK Roads, Venturer, Autodrive, Gateway, DriveMe, CoInCiDE, Cooperatively interacting

Automobiles) have been inserted in the Wiki.

In continuity with the activity of the previous WP2.3 also monitored multiple sources of

information streams such as the annual ITFVHA meetings, AUSVI efforts, TRB joint

committee on Road Vehicle Automation (LinkedIn) and many blogs

(http://smartdrivingcar.com/, http://www.cybercars.fr/, etc…)

8 VRA Website (description of the activity of the working groups): http://vra-net.eu/network/discussion-

groups/

http://www.vra-net.eu/

http://vra-net.eu/network/discussion-groups/

http://vra-net.eu/network/discussion-groups/



VRA Projects partners have been requested to contribute to the collection of information on

relevant past and current activity, considering the projects in which they are or they have

been involved.

An overview of the current listed present and past activities is summarised in the first page of

the activity catalogue9.

The Wiki is not feed only considering activities but some pages for specific topic have been

created. Currently the a page on the different automation levels, to illustrate the different

definitions, on testing scenarios and a glossary explaining the relevant terms have been

created.

Deliverable D4.2 offers a detailed overview of structure of the Wiki and the updates are

reported in D4.1.2.

5.4 Webinar

The use of Webinars has been planned in WP2.3 to support the exchange of information and

to involve partners, associated partners and relevant experts in the VRA activities to share

information on relevant projects or topics. In the first period of the VRA project the Webinars

listed in this paragraph have been organised.

The Webinar have been always organised with some polls for the audience in order to collect

relevant information on the participants (geographical areas or working sector) or on the

specific topic of the Webinar itself.

The Webinar held in Period 1, reported in D2.1, are listed in Table 2.

Table 2: Overview of the VRA Webinars held in the previous period (P1)

Topic Main speaker/s Main topic/s - Comments

VRA Webinar 1 - “Long

Term Socio-Economic

Effects of Mobility

Automation in Cities”

Adriano Alessandrini

(CTL)

Discussion on the long term

effects for mobility automation in

cities:

- How will the urban ecosystem

change once the road vehicles

will drive themselves?

- What will be the impact of these

changes on industry, citizens and

urban life-style?

Presentations and recorded video

are available on the VRA

Website10

9 VRA Wiki activity catalogue: http://vra-net.eu/wiki/index.php?title=VRA:Community_portal

10 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-1-long-term-socio-economic-effects-of-mobility-automation-in-

cities/

http://vra-net.eu/wiki/index.php?title=VRA:Community_portal



VRA Webinar 2 - “Driver

Assisted Truck

Platooning”

Richard Bishop (Bishop

Consulting)

Project funded by FHWA

Exploratory Advanced Research

on truck platooning.



Website11

VRA Webinar 3 -

“Automation @ ITS

European Congress:

main feedback and

highlights”

Dr. Maxime Flament (ERT)

Dr. Panagiotis Lytrivis

(ICCS)

Overview of the main topics on

Automation discussed during the

ITS European Congress

highlighting the main outcomes of

the different initiatives.



Website12

5.4.1 VRA Webinar 4 – “Human Factors in vehicle automation: activities

in the european project adaptive”

This Webinar on Human Factor was organised in collaboration with Dr. Emma Johansson

(VOLVO).

The general objective of this Webinar was to present a quick overview of the on-going and

planned Human Factors related activities in the European project AdaptIVe following the

research carried out in the European projects interactIVe and HAVEit.

The main aim in this part of Adaptive is to investigate how driver’s intentions and actions

should be taken into account in the design of vehicles with different levels of automation. A

range of experiments will be conducted in different experimental environment and on-road

when/if possible.

In Adaptive, Human Factors related functional requirements will be produced: they should

describe on a general level how, when and where information, warnings, interventions as

well as general support should be implemented in continuous driving situations as well as in

event-based support situations, depending on the aim of the function. Intended and

unintended situations and transitions (both system and driver initiated) should be taken into

account.

A specific focus in this Webinar was on driver state assessment.

More than 70 persons participated to the Webinar. All the presentations and a recorded video

of the Webinar are available on the VRA Website13.

11 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-2-driver-assisted-truck-platooning/

12 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-3-automation-its-european-congress-main-feedback-and-

highlights/



5.4.2 VRA Webinar 5 - “From Advanced Active Safety Systems to

Automated Systems: From interactIVe to AdaptIVe and beyond”

The Webinar was organised in collaboration with Dr. Angelos Amditis (ICCS).

The Webinar focused on the evolution in recent years from driver assistance systems to

automated driving ones. This evolution is based mainly on two large scale EU integrated

projects: interactIVe and AdaptIVe. Research activities, challenges and deployment issues

were presented. The Webinar described the project interactIVe, its objectives, main

outcomes and lessons learned and it will provide an overview of the objectives and vision of

automated driving functions that will be developed in AdaptIVe. Finally an introduction to a

new and holistic approach for automation was given based on the concept of Automated

Transport Systems.

The following presentations were discussed:

1 - VRA Project Introduction (Dr. Maxime Flament, ERT)

2 - From Advanced Active Safety Systems to Automated Systems (Dr. Angelos Amditis,

ICCS)

All the presentations and a recorded video of the Webinar are available on the VRA

Website14.

5.4.3 VRA Webinar 6 – “Cooperative Automation: Activities in the

European Project i-GAME”

This Webinar was organised in collaboration with Bastiaan Krosse (TNO).

The general objective of this Webinar was to present a quick overview of the on-going and

planned activities in the field of communication (V2X) in the European project i-GAME.

The main aim in this part of i-GAME is to develop interaction protocols and message sets in

the context of cooperative automation. Next to the development activities in i-GAME, an

international challenge will be organized in 2016 (GCDC: Grand Cooperative Driving

Challenge). Teams from all over Europe, and also from other continents, will be invited to

participate.

In i-GAME, the developed interaction protocols and message sets will be delivered to the

participating teams and will be part of the challenge by means of two scenarios, one highway

and one urban scenario.

In this Webinar the project was shortly introduced as well as the challenge (including

scenarios) and of course a basic introduction to the interaction protocols and message sets.

During the Webinar the following presentations were given:

13 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-4-human-factors-in-vehicle-automation-activities-in-the-

european-project-adaptive/

14 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-5-from-advanced-active-safety-systems-to-automated-systems-

from-interactive-to-adaptive-and-beyond/



1 – Introduction to the VRA – Vehicle and Road Automation CSA (Dr. Maxime Flament)

2 - i-GAME Presentation (Mr. Jacco van de Sluis)

3 - Cooperative Automation: Activities in the European Project i-GAME (Mrs. Elham

Semsarkazerooni)


Website15.

5.4.4 VRA Webinar 7 – “Vehicle Automation: Challenges and

Opportunities for Cities”

This Webinar was organised in collaboration with the project Viajeo Plus (Dr. Yanying Li).

Under the theme “Vehicle Automation: Challenges and Opportunities for Cities”, this Webinar

discussed cities’ experiences on deployment of automated vehicles with a particular focus on

challenges (e.g. economic) and opportunities (e.g. road safety, reduction of CO2 emissions.

Much research work has been carried out to develop and demonstrate the concept of

autonomous vehicles. In the EU, as part of the frameworks of EC co-funded cooperative

project this topic has been promoted since the 1980 with large-scale projects. These projects

have explore the concept of fully automated vehicles, ranging from private vehicles, to buses,

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) to specific vehicles (i.e. on private sites such as university

campuses, car parks, or hospitals). But, why have these technologies not taken off ‘in the

real world’ yet?

Many demonstrations of these technologies have been carried out proving their

effectiveness. More recently Google developed a self-driving car and aims to market it as a

consumer product for the general public. In 2015, the UK government launched a large scale

demonstration of driverless cars in a number of British cities. Despite these efforts, the

exploitation of these technologies and their integration into urban transport schemes remains

a challenge.

This Webinar reflected upon the challenges cities may face when deploying automated

vehicles, and the mechanism by which they might face these challenges.

The following presentations were given:

1 - VRA Introduction (Dr. Davide Brizzolara, ERTICO – ITS Europe)

2 - Viajeo-Plus Introduction (Dr. Yanying Li, ERTICO – ITS Europe)

3 - CityMobil2 La Rochelle’s Demo first results (Mr. Matthieu Graindorge, City of La Rochelle,

France)

4 - GATEway presentation for VRA webinar (Dr. Nick Reed, TRL, UK))


Website16.

15 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-6-cooperative-automation-activities-in-the-european-project-i-

game/



5.4.5 VRA Webinar 8 – “Traffic Management in the Era of Vehicle

Automation and Communication Systems (VACS)”

The Webinar was organised in collaboration with the Prof. Markos Papageorgiou of the

Technical University of Crete (Chania, Greece) who is currently coordinating the TRAMAN 21

project on traffic management (associated partners of VRA).

Traffic congestion on urban road and motorway networks has a strong economic and social

impact. A significant and growing interdisciplinary effort by the automotive industry, as well as

by numerous research institutions, has been devoted in the last decades to planning,

development, testing and deployment of a variety of Vehicle Automation and Communication

Systems (VACS) that are expected to revolutionise the features and capabilities of individual

vehicles within the next decades. If exploited appropriately, the emerging VACS may enable

sensible novel traffic management actions aiming at mitigating traffic congestion and its

detrimental implications.

The Webinar started with a brief introduction to the rationale and impact of traffic

management, along with an overview of expected changes in the years and decades to

come. Existing, planned and emerging VACS, which have an impact on the traffic flow

characteristics, are discussed and classified; and potential implications for future traffic

management are presented. Related research needs and specific tasks and challenges were

identified and commented. Some preliminary results from the ERC project TRAMAN21,

referring to (microscopic and macroscopic) traffic flow modelling, traffic state estimation,

system architecture, local and network-wide control tasks and approaches, were briefly

outlined.

The following presentations were given:

1 - VRA Introduction

2 - Freeway TM in the Era of VACS


Website17.

5.4.6 Planned Webinars

Table 3 offers an overview of the main topics and contacts for next planned Webinars. The

selected topics offer a wide overview on the main open challenges for the deployment of

road and vehicle automation ranging from technical aspects to human factors.

16 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-7-vehicle-automation-challenges-and-opportunities-for-cities/

17 http://vra-net.eu/news/vra-webinar-8-traffic-management-in-the-era-of-vehicle-automation-and-

communication-systems-vacs/



Table 3: topic / projects selected for the next VRA Webinars

Topic/Project Contact person Comments

Activity at the

International World

Congress (ITS World

Congress) held in

Bordeaux

Davide Brizzolara (ERT)

Several feedback have been collected from

the participants to the ITS World Congress

and they could be used for

Tests on fully automated

vehicles

Alberto Broggi

(University of Parma)

Contacted for having discussing some

topics (e.g. “fully automated driving in

cities.”)

Relevant research on

Human Factor

Johann Kelsch (DLR)

Natasha Merat (Leeds)

Nick Reed (TRL)

Requested suggestion for some relevant

topics

D3CoS project Gerals Temme (DLR) -

Response4 (IP Adaptive) Knapp Andreas (Daimler) -

TECNALIA prototypes

(e.g. ADAMproject)

Txomin Rodriguez

(TECNALIA) -

National projects/topics

of research in the

Netherlands

Bastian Knosse (TNO) The activity on Vehicle and Road

automation

HAVEit

Coordinator:

Reiner Hoeger

(Continental)

Project developed seven advanced vehicle

applications (e.g., Queue assistance, brake-

by-wire truck). The project ended in 2011

ABV - Low Speed

Automation

Automatisation Basse

Vitesse

Contact person:

Erdyn Simon Creuchet

ABV ("Automatisation Basse Vitesse" or

Low Speed Automation) is a research

project led by a consortium of academic and

industrial actors under the coordination of

INRETS which aims at proving the technical

feasibility of low speed automation, typically

in heavy traffic conditions. The project is

financed by the French National Agency for

Research (ANR) and is supported by the

French automotive cluster Mov'eo.

COMPANION

Project Coordinator

Magnus Adolfson,

SCANIA AB

This could be an interesting topic when the

project will end



6 Partners and Associated partners

The networking activities of the VRA coordination and support action are mainly supported by

all the VRA beneficiaries, listed in Table 5 (nr. 1-14), who have resources in WP2 with the

support of the associated partners. The list of the beneficiaries has been updated taking into

account the Amendment to the project proposed for the second period. The following

associated partners have been included in the VRA Consortium as beneficiaries:

1) DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV (DLR) - Germany

2) TRL LIMITED (TRL) – United Kingdom

3) RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHEN (IKA) -

Germany

6.1 VRA Consortium

The VRA Consortium ensures a balanced participation of different sectors that willing to play

a supportive role to create an international network around vehicle and road automation. All

the beneficiaries have already experiences in European funded activities and are currently

involved in developing European or national activities on the topic (see Chapter 3.2).

The VRA consortium relies on the numerous other contributors to the iMobility Automation

WG who represent the major stakeholders and expert dealing with automation in Europe.

The VRA Consortium ensures the key sector representation (as shown in Table 7).

Table 4: key sector representation

Sector Name

Associations ERTICO

(100 stakeholders in deployment of ITS)

Vehicle

manufacturers

AB VOLVO

(commercial vehicles and Volvo Technology)

Tier1 suppliers DENSO (DE)

Michelin (FR)

Research Centres

and test facilities

ICCS (GR)

IDIADA (SP)

IFSTTAR (FR)

Tecnalia (SP)

TNO (NL)

DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV (DLR)

TRL LIMITED (TRL)



Universities

Uni LEEDS (UK)

Uni Roma (IT)

RHEINISCH-WESTFAELISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE AACHEN (IKA)

The main activities per partner in WP2 are listed below:

1) ERTICO – ITS EUROPE, for WP2.1, mainly contributes to the organisation

international VRA meetings, participation to key international activities in the

framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration. In WP2.2 it has and Active participation

to VRA international meetings and other key international activities in the framework

of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. In WP2.3, ERTICO – ITS Europe act

as contact for any stakeholders who would like to receive and provide more

information on VRA activities around the world. It invites European and international

stakeholders to present the current state-of-the art in regular webinar and to

contribute to the Wiki. It provides information to non-beneficiaries and it encourages

associated partnership and engagement in the VRA activities

2) VOLVO is WP2.2 Task Leader, co-chair of the imobility Forum Automation WG. Its

activity focused on the organisation of regular Automation WG meetings and

concertation meetings. Its activities aim to extend the role of the Automation WG to

become a concertation group for Automation in Europe, consolidating discussions in

position papers

3) DENSO contributes to expand the international VRA network, to the organisation of

international VRA meetings and to the participation to key international activities in

the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. It is also active in

WP2.2, attending and contributing to the Automation WG and concertation meetings

4) TECNALIA contributes to expand the international VRA network, to the organisation

of international VRA meetings and to the participation to key international activities in

the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. It is also active in

WP2.2, attending and contributing to the Automation WG and concertation meetings.

5) TNO, task leader of WP2.1, is active in the organisation of VRA international

meetings and in the participation to key international activities in the framework of the

EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. Its representative is co-chair of the iMobility

Forum Automation WG. It organises regular Automation WG meetings and extend the

role of the Automation WG to become a concertation group for Automation in Europe,

consolidating discussions in position papers

6) LEEDS supports the international VRA network and contributes to organisation of

VRA international meetings, participating to key international activities in the

framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. It also attends and

contributes to the Automation WG and concertation meetings

7) ICCS supports the international VRA network and contributes to organisation of VRA

international meetings, participating to key international activities in the framework of

the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. It also attends and contributes to the

Automation WG and concertation meetings



8) IFSTAR has an active participation to VRA international meetings and other key

international activities in the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on

automation. It is also involved in the contribution to the Automation WG and

concertation meetings, making the link with French competitive cluster (MOVEO,

VEDECOM)

9) CTL has an active participation to VRA international meetings and other key

international activities in the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on

automation. It attends and contribute to the Automation WG and concertation

meetings, preparing discussions leading to European position on automation

10) MICHELIN focuses on the VRA international meetings and other key international

activities in the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. It also

contributes to the Automation WG and concertation meetings

11) IDIADA focuses on the active participation to VRA international meetings and other

key international activities in the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on

automation. IDIADA has resources to attend and contribute to the Automation WG

and concertation meetings, preparing discussion leading to European position on

automation.

12) DLR supports the international VRA network and contributes to organisation of VRA

international meetings, participating to key international activities in the framework of

the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. In particular the focus for DLR is on the

topic of Human Factors and Decision and Control Algorithms (DLR is task leader in

WP3.5 and WP3.8)

13) TRL LIMITED contributes to expand the international VRA network, to the organisation

of international VRA meetings and to the participation to key international activities in

the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. It supports the link

with the several initiatives on vehicle automation recently launched in the UK (e.g.

Venturer, Autodrive, Gateway).

14) IKA contributes to expand the international VRA network, to the organisation of

international VRA meetings and to the participation to key international activities in

the framework of the EU-US-JPN collaboration on automation. It supports the link

with the activities of the project AdaptIve (http://www.adaptive-ip.eu/) in which IKA is

active as part of the project consortium.

In WP2.3, for the Information Exchange, all the partners have resources to contribution to the

inventory of relevant activities on Automation and contact lists, contribution to webinars.

6.2 VRA Partners

VRA partners include the beneficiaries (introduced in paragraph 6.1) and the associated

partners. Indeed, the participation of different stakeholders to the activities of the projects as

Associated Partners is promoted by the project. The main roles of the associated partners

are the following:

To maintain an active network of experts and stakeholders

To contribute to international collaboration

To identify deployment needs

http://www.adaptive-ip.eu/



To promote the research on vehicle and road automation

In the second period of activity VRA attracted a large group of associated partners. In Table 5

(nr. 12-35), they are listed with the indication, when provided, of the planned resources to be

used for the activities in VRA.

The Associated Partners are organisations of different types: Automotive Industry, Service

Provider, User Organisation, Technology Provider, Research Organisation,

Road/Infrastructure Operator and Others. An overview is provided in Table 7.

Table 5: List of the VRA Partners (Beneficiaries and Associated Partners)

Nr. Partners Acronym Contact Person Planned Resources (WP2)

1

European Road Transport

Telematics Implementation

Coordiantion Organisation S.C.R.L

ERTICO –

ITS Europe Maxime Flament 6.0 PM

2 Volvo Tecnology AB VOLVO Joakim Svensson 4.5 PM

3 Denso Automotive Deutschland

GmbH DENSO

Jean-Michel

Henchoz 3.5 PM

4 Fundation Tecnalia Research &

Innovation TECNALIA Txomin Rodriguez 3.5 PM

5

Nederlandse Organisatie vooe

toegepast natuurwetenschappelijk

onderzoek

TNO Maarten Oonk 3.0 PM

6 University of Leeds LEEDS Natasha Merat 4.5 PM

7 Institute of Communication and

Computer Systems ICCS Angelos Amditis 4.5 PM

8

Institut français des sciences et

technologies des transports, de

l’amenagement et des reseaux

IFSTTAR Sébastien Glaser 2.5 PM

9

Universià degli Studi di Roma La

Sapienza (Centro Studi Trasporti e

Logistica)

CTL Adriano

Alessandrini 2.5 PM

10 Manifacture française des

pneumatiques michelin MICHELIN Antoine Feral 2.5 PM

11 Idiada Automotive Technology SA IDIADA Alvaro Arrue 2.5 PM

12 Deutsches Zentrum Fuer Luft -

Und Raumfahrt - EV DLR Daniel Hess 1.0 PM

13 TRL Limited TRL Nick Reed 0.5 PM

14 Rheinesch-Westfaelische

Technische Hochschule Aachen IKA Felix Fahrenkrog 0.5 PM

- Associate Partners - Resources referred

to all the WPs

15 Centro Technológico de

Automoción de Galicia CTAG Francisco Sanchez -



16

Institut für Softwaresysteme in

technischen Anwendungen der

Informatik Universität Passau

FORWISS Erich Fuchs 5 man-days/year

17 Hellenic Democracy Technical

University of Crete

University of

Crete

Markos

Papageorgiou -

18

TTIS – Okan University

Transportation Technologies and

Intelligent Automotive Systems

Application and Research Centre

TTIS - Okan

University Nejat Tuncay 50 man-days/year

19 Abertis Autopistas Abertis Carlos Fuentes

Alonso -

20 National Institute for Research in

Computer Science and Control INRIA Fawzi Nashashibi -

21 HERE, a Nokia company, HERE Ahmed Nasr -

22 Royal Automobile Club of Cataloni RACC Lluiss Puerto -

23

Institut de la Transition

Energétique pour le véhicule

Décarboné et Communicant et sa

Mobilité (Institute VeDeCom)

VeDeCom Jérôme Perrin 10 man-days/year

24 VisLab srl. VisLab Alberto Broggi -

25

Consorzio Interuniversitario per

l’Ottimizzazione e la Ricerca

Operativa (ICOOR)

ICOOR Mauro dell’Amico -

26 Vialis Vialis Rudi Lagerweij -

27 Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers Stig Franzén -

28 Delft University of Technology TU Delft Riender Happee 20 man-days/year

29

ADAS Management Consulting,

Advanced Driver Assistance and

Safety

ADAS Walter Hagleitner 15 man-days/year

30 Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. JLR Stuart Jackson 12 man-days/year

31 Mouchel Ltd. Mouchel Giles Perkins 52 man-days/year

32 Technische Universiteit Eindhoven TU/e Ben Rutten 5 man-days/year

33 Imtech Traffic & Infra Imtech Jaap Vreeswwijk 4-8 man-days/year

34 CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY – HELLAS

CERTH Stella Nikolaou 20 man-days/year

35 Barcelona City Council BCC Jordi Ortuño Ribé -

36 European Automotive Research Partners Association

AERPA Margriet Van

Schijndel -

37 Belgian Road Safety Institute IBSR Jean-François

Gaillet 20 man-days/year

38 Renault SAS Renault Christian Rousseau 20 man-days/year



39 University of Wurzburg (Research center Robot-Law)

RobotRecht Eric Hilgendorf -

40 Transport for London TfL Natalia de De

Estevan-Ubeda -

41 Lehrsstuhl fur Ergonomie TUM Bastiaan

Petermeijer -

42 AustriaTech AustriaTech Johannes

Liebermann -

43 International Transport Forum ITF - OECD Tom Voege -

6.3 Overview of the Associates Partners

In this paragraph a short overview of the main activities of the associated partners in

provided.

CTAG

CTAG (www.ctag.com) is an organisation created to offer advanced technological solutions

to the automotive sector. It supports the automotive industry in its permanent quest for

continuous improvement and new technology. CTAG’s mission is to make automotive

companies more competitive through the implementation of new technologies and the

encouragement of research, development and innovation. CTAG offers its supports for the all

tasks of WP2 and WP3.

Forwiss (Univ. Passau)

The Institute for Software Systems in Technical Applications (FORWISS)

(http://www.forwiss.uni-passau.de) at the University of Passau provides expertise in image

and signal processing, optical measurement algorithms, 3D-printing applications as well as in

driver assistance systems, especially for environmental perception. The group has

successfully completed a large number of projects on national and European level including

Ko-PER and several IP sub-projects within PreVENT and interactIVe. It cooperates with a

wide range of major players in the automotive field. Within the area of environmental

perception Forwiss researches focuse on vehicle sensor data fusion and data enhancement

as well as modules for automatic driving. Algorithms for vehicle self-localization, road

boundary detection and generation of compact high precision maps were recently

demonstrated at the Ko-PER and interactIVe final events. In VRA Forwiss offers its support to

the tasks WP2.2 and WP2.3.

University of Crete

The Technical University of Crete (http://www.en.uoc.gr/) is a state university under the

supervision of the Greek Ministry of Education and was founded in 1977. The Technical

University of Crete hosts the institution of the ERC Advanced Investigator Grant TRAMAN21

(http://www.traman21.tuc.gr/) and it expressed its interest in supporting the activities of all the

VRA tasks in WP2 and WP3.

TTIS Okan University

The objective of the Transportation Technologies and Intelligent Automotive Systems

Application and Research Centre (TTIS) (http://arastirma.okan.edu.tr/en/page/transportation-

http://www.forwiss.uni-passau.de/

http://www.en.uoc.gr/

http://arastirma.okan.edu.tr/en/page/transportation-technologies-and-intelligent-automotive-systems-application-and



technologies-and-intelligent-automotive-systems-application-and) is to develop the academic

and technological knowledge required by the Turkish automotive industry, automotive

subsidiary industry and public by doing foresight studies on future transportation systems

and vehicles that work on clean energy, intelligent vehicles, intelligent transportation

systems, unmanned vehicles, robots and robot groups and their modelling, simulation,

design and realization. The TTIS supports the activities of WP3.1 and 3.3.

Abertis

Abertis (http://www.abertis.com/) is the Spanish leader in the tollroads sector. It directly

manages more than 1,500 kilometres of tollroads, covering 59% of all the country’s tollroads,

via the operators acesa, invicat, aumar, iberpistas, aucat, castellana, aulesa and avasa.

Abertis also has a minority stake in several tollroads and tunnels concessions with a total of

245 kilometres: Autema and Ciralsa. Also plays an active role in Accesos de Madrid and

Henarsa, concessions companies which manage several access routes to Madrid City.

Abertis supports the task WP3.1.

DLR

DLR (http://www.dlr.de/) is the national aeronautics and space research centre of the Federal

Republic of Germany. DLR supports in particular task WP2.2, WP2.3 and WP3.1. During the

first period of activity DLR provided a valuable supported focused on the topic of Decision

and Control Algorithms, leading the sub-group of the iMobility Forum Automation Working

Group on this topics.

IKA

The Institute for Automotive Engineering (IKA) of RWTH Aachen University

(http://www.ika.rwth-aachen.de/index-e.php) is Europe’s leading institute in automotive

engineering and directed by Professor Lutz Eckstein. Starting from the idea to innovative

concepts for components and systems up to vehicle prototypes, the staff of the institute

creates and design the future vehicle. In cooperation with car manufacturers and suppliers

IKA makes an acknowledged contribution to help solve current and future global challenges.

IKA contributes to tasks WP2.1, WP2.3 and WP3.1.

Inria

INRIA (http://www.inria.fr/en/) is the French public-sector scientific and technological

organisation specialized in ICT. The department IMARA has been involved over the last 15

years in the application of Information and Communication Technologies in the field of ITS.

IMARA has participated in numerous European research programmes in this field such as

Carsense, DIATS, Stardust, Cybercars, CyberMove, REACT, NetMobil, CyberCars2,

CityMobil, HAVEit and DESERVE. Inria supports all the tasks in WP2 and WP3.

HERE

HERE, a Nokia company, (http://here.com/) is a global leader in the mapping and location

intelligence business. It supports in particular task WP2.1, WP2.2, WP3.1, W3.2. During the

first period of activity HERE provided a valuable supported focused on the topic of Digital

Infrastructure leading the sub-group of the iMobility Forum Automation Working Group on this

topic

RACC

http://arastirma.okan.edu.tr/en/page/transportation-technologies-and-intelligent-automotive-systems-application-and

http://www.abertis.com/

http://www.dlr.de/

http://www.ika.rwth-aachen.de/index-e.php

http://www.inria.fr/en/

http://here.com/



RACC (www.racc.es) is a non-profit-making company dealing with the provision of mobility-

related and assistance services to its members, as well as advice, protection and defence for

motorists, the improvement of road safety, sustainable mobility, and the promotion of motor

sport. RACC in interested mainly in WP2.3, WP3.1 and WP3.2.

VedeCoM

Institut VeDeCoM (http://vedecom.fr/en/) is one of the newly created ITE (Institute for the

Energetic Transition) within the French Government “Investissement d’Avenir”. It is supported

by the Mov’eo Competitiveness Cluster and local community organisations South West of

Paris. VeDeCoM involves more than 40 industrial and academic members who want to

collaborate in pre-competitive and pre-normative research on sustainable individual mobility

in three domains: electric vehicle powertrains, vehicle connectivity and driving delegation,

and shared mobility and energy in terms of new usages, infrastructures and services.

VeDeCOm supports tasks WP3.1, WP3.2 and WP3.3.

VISLAB

VisLab (http://vislab.it/) is one of the key groups worldwide providing top-notch theoretical

and applied research on Environmental Perception in many different fields, including

Intelligent Vehicles, Bui/ding Automation, and Smart SUNeillance. Thanks to its tight

cooperation with top level companies in Europe, America, and Asia, VisLab has developed its

own vision on products for different markets and offers a wide variety of perception and

safety systems. Of particular interest is Vis Lab's involvement in the automotive arena, with

enhanced perception based on low-cost sensors. ViSLAB focuses its interest on WP2.1,

WP2.2, WP2.3 and WP3.1.

ICOOR

The core activities of ICOOR (http://www.icoor.it/php/index.php) concern the design and

development of optimisation methods and algorithms, including decision supports and

simulation models. Design of tailored algorithms for optimisation of automation devices, and

decision support systems to evaluate and assess the impact of different level of Vehicle and

Road Automation are priorities in ICOOR research plans. The study of the impact of the

automation on the user is also a task that ICOOR does in some EU-funded project (e.g.

Deserve). ICOOR identified as of utmost interest the tasks WP2.1, WP2.2, WP2.3 and

WP3.1.

Vialis

Vialis develops, manufactures commissions and maintains (cooperative) roadside systems

for dynamic traffic management, and supports the road operator in managing and optimising

traffic flows on the road network, according to his targets of efficiency, safety and

sustainability. Vialis also provides real time traffic information, based on both roadside and

mobile sources. Vialis identifies of utmost interest the tasks WP2.2 and WP3.3.

http://vedecom.fr/en/

http://vislab.it/

http://www.icoor.it/php/index.php



Chalmers

Chalmers University of Technology (http://www.chalmers.se/) is a Swedish university located

in Gothenburg that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science,

architecture, maritime and other management areas. Chalmers identifies of utmost interest

the tasks WP2.2 and WP3.1.

TU Delft

TU Delft (http://www.tudelft.nl/en/) is involved in several activities in Vehicle and Road

Automation. It is coordinator of the project “Human Factors of Automated Driving” (HFAUTO),

coordinator of the “Dutch Automated Vehicle Initiative” (DAVI). TU Delft is partner of the

Dutch Integrated Test Cooperative Mobility and it is involved in several activities of education

in human factors, sensing and control for automated driving.

ADAS

As a consultant to the automotive industry, ADAS deals with the topics of vehicle and road

automation on a daily basis. It expressed its interest in the task of WP2.2 and WP3.1.

JLR

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive (http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/gl/en/) is a British

multinational automotive company. JLR identifies of utmost interest all the tasks WP2 and

WP3.

Mouchel

Mouchel (http://www.mouchel.com) is a leading infrastructure and business services group

that works in partnership with its public services’ clients to improve the day-to-day lives of

millions of people.

Mouchel is the no. 1 ITS consultancy in the UK (CIHT rankings 2013) and it operates 4 of

Highways Agency Asset Support Contract (ASC) in England as well as the National Traffic

Service (NTIS). Mouchel also provides advice to the Highways Agency with regards to the

National Roads Telecommunications Service (NRTS) which includes the Agency’s fibre optic

and traditional communications networks. It provides multi-disciplinary services across the

whole highways life-cycle from transportation and environmental modelling through to

infrastructure design and asset management.

Mouchel developed the principles underpinning “hard shoulder running” on England’s

motorways and have been at the forefront of the thinking from the first pilot on the M42

through to the latest generation designs being deployed across the network. Mouchel

approach to the consideration of hazards and risks underpins the safety principles of this

major plank in UK highway policy.

Mouchel is actively examining the vehicle and automation sector with a particular interest in

the potential impacts upon network operations and it wish to contribute our significant

expertise to WP2.2 and WP3.2.

TUe Eindhoven

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) (https://www.tue.nl/) is a research university

specializing in engineering science & technology. TU/e practices and preaches a multi-

disciplinary system approach, both in education and research. Within TU/e’ Strategic Area

http://www.chalmers.se/

http://www.tudelft.nl/en/

http://www.jaguarlandrover.com/gl/en/

http://www.mouchel.com/

https://www.tue.nl/



Smart Mobility, over 200 researchers contribute every day to make mobility and transport

more intelligent and productive, and make vehicles safer, cleaner and more efficient. The

TU/e is holding a great deal of expertise in the fields of Intelligent Transport Systems,

Automotive Technology, Logistics and Planning Systems, and ICT/Embedded Systems.Tue

Eindhoven identifies of utmost interest all the tasks WP2 and the tasks WP3.1 and WP3.3.

Imtech

Imtech (http://imtech.com/EN) participates to research, development and deployment of

cooperative ITS with special attention to road infrastructure systems and dynamic traffic

management. To that end, Imtech participates in various national and European projects,

international collaboration (e.g. EU-US Task Force, Harmonization Task Group) and

standardization (e.g. ETSI, CEN and ISO). Imtech is particularly interested in tasks WP2.1,

WP2.2, WP3.1 and WP3.3.

CERTH

The Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH) (http://www.certh.gr/root.en.aspx)

is the only research centre in Northern Greece and one of the largest in the country and it

was founded in 2000. CERTH has important scientific and technological achievements in

many areas including: Energy, Environment, Industry, Mechatronics, Information &

Communication, Transportation & Sustainable Mobility, Health, Agro-biotechnology, Smart

farming, Safety & Security, as well as several cross-disciplinary scientific areas. CERTH

includes the Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT) Land, Sea and Air Transportation as well as

Sustainable Mobility services. CERTH identifies of utmost interest all the tasks WP2.1,

WP2.2, WP2.3 and WP3.1

BCN

BCN (http://www.bcn.cat/en/) considers of utmost interest the development and efficient

deployment of cooperative ITS solutions. These solutions will enhance (current available and

future) automated vehicle technologies, but requires the involvement of many stakeholders.

In this context, Barcelona City Council, Abertis Telecom, IDIADA, RACC and Robotics Dept.

of the UPC (Polytechnic University of Catalonia) have decided to set-up an Executive Board

of Stakeholders for the development of initiatives and business models in the field of

cooperative and automated driving, heading towards development of use cases where fully

autonomous driving are also feasible. BCN identifies of utmost interest the tasks WP2.1,

WP2.2, WP2.3 and WP3.1.

AERPA

Founded in 2002, EARPA (http://www.earpa.eu/) is the association of automotive R&D

organisations. It brings together the most prominent independent R&D providers in the

automotive sector throughout Europe. Its membership counts at present 49 members

ranging from large and small commercial organisations to national institutes and universities.

EARPA is the platform of automotive researchers and is actively contributing to the European

Research Area and the future EU RTD funding programmes.

EARPA has two dedicated Task Forces whose work is related to the VRA objectives: TF

Safety and TF Electronics and Communication Systems. Their members and activities can

be used in providing VRA with input, but also for dissemination.

http://imtech.com/EN

http://www.certh.gr/root.en.aspx

http://www.bcn.cat/en/



IBSR

BRSI advises the federal minister in charge of the road safety and mobility on ITS related

matters. It contributes to the development of laws enabling the deployment of those

technologies. BRSI performs research on and evaluates new road traffic measures. It also

advises authorities on measures to be taken to suppress black spots. The institute is also in

charge of controlling the equipment of periodic technical inspection and to homologate a

number of devices (helmet, alcohol measurement systems, etc.). As adviser, evaluator and

actor in the homologation sector, BRSI can benefit from the VRA network and provide the

initiative with Belgian views on issues and potential solutions.

Renault

Renault will support the discussion regarding research and advanced engineering on

delegated driving and autonomous cars and light commercial vehicles.

Würzburg University, Research Centre Robot Law

In the middle of 2012, the research Centre of robot Law was founded at the department of

Criminal law, criminal Justice, Legal theory, Information and Computer Sciences Law of the

University of Würzburg.

The objective of the research centre is to analyse the current technological demands within

the field of automated systems and to assess the development from the legal point of view.

The question whether “autonomous actions” are subject to civil and criminal liability are as

much discussed as the legal handling of human-machine-interfaces (HMI); as for instance

how to deal with nanobots, artificial parts of the body and sensory organs from the legal

perspective. It is not only the use of automated systems which has to be assessed but also

the public law has to be taken into account. The most important matter is whether current

legislation is sufficient with respect to the present and future problems occurring with

reference to robotics/automate systems or whether there is a need to establish new norms

and regulations.

The dominant objective is to go along with the technological development and to help to

establish a new system of rules. An intensive dialogue with suppliers, manufacturers, users

and researchers is necessary to reach the above mentioned intention. Furthermore,

sociological, culture, philosophical issues need to be addressed. Finally, it has to be

examined how other legal systems react to the technological progress in the field of

automated systems. The research centre Robot-Law has participated in some national and

international projects concerning new technologies e.g. AUTONOMICS-New generations of

autonomous, simulation-based systems challenging legal framework conditions,

AUTONOMICS for Industry 4.0, AdaptIVe etc.

Transport for London

Transport for London (TfL) is working on scenarios for automation in London, including

strategies for deployment with a view to pilot. In the UK, TfL is working with the Department

for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as an

Advisor in the trials for Driverless Cars Consortia. TfL is also involved in matters regarding

the UK’s regulatory review. TfL is actively engaged with the motor manufacturers and other

industry leading partners in taking forward the connected mobility agenda leading to

automation. TfL continues to be heavily involved in the global scene through working

relationships in the US, Far East and Europe. TfL has taken part in the review of the



roadmaps for pan European implementation of automation via ERTRAC (European Road

Transport Research Advisory Group). TfL is also a nominated member of the European

project CITYMOBIL2 Reference Group, representing the urban perspective. TfL is also part

of the EU delegation in talks with the US on automation developments (EU-US Symposium)

as well as an active participant in the on-going discussions with Japan on Automation as part

of the SIP-ADUS initiative and also in the context of TfL’s advisor role to Tokyo2020.

Lehrsstuhl fur Ergonomie

Lehrsstuhl fur Ergonomie is partner in the ITN Marie Curie HFauto project (employing two

ESR’s). Several PhD candidates are involved in human factor research focused on

automated or cooperative driving. Topics are including driver state interference, multimodal

interface design, and take-over manoeuvres.

AustriaTech

As agency of the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, AustriaTech is very

ambitious to push and simulate R&D activities in Austria. The main activities at the moment

are writing of a policy brief for BMVIT and various activities within H2020 projects.

AustriaTech is 100% owned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology

International Transport Forum

The International Transport Forum at the OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 57

member countries. It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual

Summit of transport ministers. ITF is the only global body that covers all transport modes.

The ITF is administratively integrated with the OECD, yet politically autonomous.

The International Transport Forum published recently reports on modelling of urban impacts

and on regulatory issues relating to vehicle automation. Next year a roundtable meeting is

planned on the issue.


Table 6: Tasks indicated by the associated partners of utmost importance

Associated

Partner

WP2.1

Support the

international

task force

WP2.2

Support the

iMobility Forum

Automation WG

WP2.3

Contribute with

information on

existing research or

deployment

activities in ashared

wiki

WP3.1

Contribute to define deployment paths & scenarios and investigate socioeconomic

implications of

vehicle automation

WP3.2

Contribute to

legal, liability,

insurance and

regulatory

issues

WP3.3

Contribute to standardisation, compliance and certification for vehicle and road

automation

CTAG X X X X X X

FORWISS - X X - - -

Crete

University X X X X X X

TRL X X X X X X

Okan

University - - - X - X

Abertis

Autopistas - - - X - -

DLR - X X X - -

IKA X - X X - -

INRIA X X X X X X

HERE X X - X X -

RACC - - X X X -

VeDeCoM - - - X X X



ViSLAB X X X X - -

ICOOR X X X X - -

Vialis - X - - - X

Chalmers - X - X - -

TU Delft X X X X X X

ADAS - X - X - -

JLR X X X X X X

Mouchel - X - X - -

TU/e X X X X - X

Imtech X X - X - X

CERTH X X X X - -

BCC X X X X - -

EARPA - X - X - X

BRSI - - - X X X

Renault X X X X X X

Würzburg

University - - - - X -

Transport for

London X X - X X X

TUM - - X - - X

AustriaTech - X - X X -

ITF X X - - - -



Table 7: Overview of the Associated partners type of organisation

Associated Partner

Automotiv

e Industry

Service

Provider

User

Organisation

Technology

Provider

Research

Organisation

Road/

lnfrastructure

Operator

Other

CTAG X X

FORWISS X

Crete University X

TRL X

Okan University X

Abertis Autopistas X

DLR X

INRIA X

HERE X

RACC X

VeDeCoM X

ViSLAB X

(Start-up)

ICOOR X

Vialis X X

Chalmers X

TU Delft X

ADAS X (Consulting)



JLR X

Mouchel X X X

TU/e X

Imtech X X

CERTH X

BCC X (Public

Administration)

EARPA

X (association

of automotive

research

organisations)

BRSI X X

Renault X

Würzburg University X

Transport for London X

X (Integrated

Transport

service

provider)

TUM X

AustriaTech X

ITF

X(intergovern

mental

organisation)


7 Conclusions

The report on the VRA networking activities proposed in this deliverable illustrated the main

results of the VRA coordination and support action for the activities identified in WP2: create

an active European network of experts and stakeholders and contribute to the EU-US-JAPAN

international collaboration.

Considering the list of international activities (reported in Chapter 0), VRA successfully

fostered the international collaboration supporting the participations of several partners at

international meetings and workshops. VRA established a fruitful dialogue with the main

international actors (EC, US DoT and MLIT) and helped to coordinate the European efforts in

these international activities, often acting as organiser for several initiatives.

The international collaboration was effectively supported by the VRA activities in European

concertation. As reported in Chapter 4.2, several meetings and workshops at European level

were organised. These efforts offered to the participants the possibility of discussing issues

together in a collaborative way. Several European initiatives (EC funded projects, national

initiatives, etc…) were involved in the meetings and the common relevant topics of

discussion were addressed by specific working groups, also considering the needs reported

by the Automation working group.

WP2.3, as reported Chapter 5, identified several activities worldwide on vehicle automation

and supported the information exchange by using the tools provided by WP4. In particular, a

positive feedback has been given by the audience for the Webinars which have been

organised on different topics. They have been evaluated as a very good tool for the

promotion of activities and the exchange of information.

Considering the current results, the structure of the WP2 “Networking Activities” has shown

its effectiveness in the involvement of the partners and in supporting international

collaboration and European concertation.

In the second period of the project, considering the successful results of the first period, the

following activities will be highlighted:

The support to a position paper to consolidate the discussions (in collaboraboration

with the iMobility Forum), as complementary activity to the work of WP3 on the

deployment needs.

The organisation of international initiatives in particular focusing on the opportunities

offered by the ITS World Congress held Bordeaux in 2015.

The organisation of Webinars on the identified relevant topics in Section 5.4.5,

considering the interest and the participations of a wide audience in the previous

period.



8 Bibliography

1. VRA official webpage. [Online] 2014. http://vra-net.eu/.

2. CityMobl2 Homepage. [Online] 2012. http://www.citymobil2.eu/en/.

3. Adaptive Home Page. [Online] 2014. https://www.adaptive-ip.eu/.

4. i-Game Home Page. [Online] TNO, 2014. http://www.gcdc.net/i-game.

5. AutoNet 2030 Homepage. [Online] http://www.autonet2030.eu/.

6. Companion Homepage. [Online] 2014. http://www.companion-project.eu/.

7. Transport Reserach Board - official webpage. [Online] 2014.

http://www.trb.org/AboutTRB/AboutTRB.aspx.

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