The CoEXist project’s work package 3 is now fully running. Its first aim is to develop an impact assessment tool based on the automation-ready traffic models developed within the project. This tool will allow an assessment of the automation-readiness of road infrastructure.
Automation-ready infrastructure, what does that mean?
An automation-ready infrastructure can handle the introduction of automated vehicles without significant decline in traffic performance, space efficiency or safety. So far, the work has focused on the identification of relevant metrics with respect to each of these variables, and on how these can be combined to assess the automation-readiness.
Recommendations to design automation-ready infrastructure
The second aim of the work package is to draft automation-ready infrastructure design recommendations for the eight CoEXist use cases. This task requires well-developed experimental designs that specify which uncertain factors should be varied and investigated. Such uncertain factors include the penetration rate and the mix of automated vehicles of different types, potential traveller or road user adaptation, traffic demand, and others. The recommendations also include which measures such as road design, traffic control and regulation should be investigated.
Experimental design: a collective effort
The CoEXist project developed the draft initial experimental design aimed at the assessment of the use cases. The project consortium partners actively contributed to this process through an experimental design workshop, in which they could provide their valuable inputs and advises. The experimental design workshop took place in May 2018 in Gothenburg, during the project’s third consortium meeting.