 Telematics Applications for Transport Research Information4th Framework ResearchProjects
 UDC TR 1060
Urban Drive Control
Project Summary
The intention behind the URBAN DRIVE CONTROL project is to integrate environment and city management with individual drivers' interests, by combining remote driving speed recommendations with autonomous longitudinal control of vehicles. The project will adapt and improve the existing technology, which has been developed for speed and distance control on highways, for operation in urban areas. The objective is to integrate traffic management and vehicle longitudinal control. It will use Short-Range Communication (SRC) technology transmitting driving-speed recommendations via road-side beacons to vehicles equipped with Autonomous Cruise Control (ACC).
Following analysis of user needs and definition of scenarios for UDC systems, four vehicles from different manufacturers will be prepared to run tests in the city of Turin. System Architecture design and Evaluation activities will prepare the ground for further investigations in this and related applications. These will lead to a comprehensive demonstration of this Advanced Telematics Transport application as a follow-up.
Environmental awareness and increased traffic density create greater demand for reduced pollution and increased efficiency. It is expected that intelligent vehicles interacting with traffic management systems will have positive effects on:
- traffic flow through city streets
- journey times in the city
- harmonisation of traffic flow
- levels of noise and pollution
- number of collisions
- driver comfort
- increased safety, by assisting drivers in their driving, task and decision workload.
The economic and social impact of UDC systems will be significant, both for the communities concerned and for technology development. The market for technology in the domain of active safety is enormous, with an expected penetration level comparable to the anti-lock brake. Autonomous longitudinal vehicle control combined with urban traffic management has corresponding potential to enhance safety, and optimise throughput and care of the environment.
Major Validation Sites
City of Turin, IT
Users
Two groups of users will be directly addressed by the UDC project: intermediate users who operate transport systems, i.e. operators and the authorities, and the end user, the driver of the individual vehicles.
Approach
Beacons for Short Range Communications, operating at 5.8 GHz, will be used to send speed profile recommendations to vehicles equipped with autonomous distance and speed control (ACC). User needs studies will clarify the degree of assistance that is appropriate for drivers for Stop&Go in dense traffic situations. A verification of the overall system architecture will be carried out with at least four vehicles.
Expected Benefits
- harmonisation of traffic flow on arterial roads
- contribution to a reduction of average travel time with an expected reduction of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions
- increase to safety, road capacity (estimated from the DRIVE II Primavera project at 10%) and traffic flow at intersections (estimated at 20%)
- reduction of drivers' workload and reduced probability of errors with positive effects for comfort and safety
- preparing of the ground for large-scale demonstration of the envisaged system architecture
- new markets for suppliers of components, sub-systems and systems for microwave and image processing technology and for the automotive industries the possibility of exploiting a market comparable to the one for anti-lock brakes.
Contribution to EU Policies
This work will contribute to international guidelines and specifications and help to establish an integrated approach in Europe.
Contact Person
Otto Hofmann, TUV Kraftfahrt GmbH, DE
Tel: +49 221 806 1968
Fax: +49 221 806 1372
e-mail: ohofmann@tuev-rheinland.de
Project Participants
TUV Kraftfahrt GmbH, DE
Automotive Distance Control Systems, CH
Centro Ricerche Fiat S.c.p.A., IT
Centro Studi sui Sistemi di Trasporto S.p.A., IT
City of Turin, IT
GIE PSA Peugeot Citroen, FR
Jaguar Cars Ltd, UK
Lucas Applied Technology, UK
Mizar Automazione S.p.A., IT
Renault, FR
Thomson CSF, FR
Public Deliverables
D 8.1 Draft evaluation plan
D 3.3 User Needs Studies and Scenario Definition
| 
