Objective
The key to avoiding road accidents is to extend drivers' time/space horizon in their perception of safety-relevant information, and to improve the precision, reliability and quality of this information. The extent of 'perception' of autonomous vehicle-based systems cannot obviously go beyond the operative range of the sensors. Although effective real time awareness of the vehicle's "surrounding environment" can be achieved, this clearly has limits. Extended coverage is possible only through collaboration between the infrastructure's and the vehicles' sensing abilities. By combining data from roadside sensors and data made available by vehicles in the vicinity, advance knowledge can be gained of potential safety risks, e.g. an icy patch, fog bank, obstacle or accident on the road ahead (but out of sight). The communication of warnings and advice to approaching vehicles (both directly to onboard units and via roadside signals) will provide the extra reaction time necessary to prevent an accident occurring.
One of the main aims of SAFESPOT is to develop a "Safety Margin Assistant" which will extend "in space and time" the safety information available to drivers by:
-using both the infrastructure and vehicles as sources (and destinations) of safety-related information, and definition of an open, flexible and modular communications architecture;
-developing the key enabling technologies: accurate relative localisation, ad-hoc dynamic networking, dynamic local traffic maps;
-developing a new generation of infrastructure-based sensing techniques;
-testing scenario-based applications to evaluate the impacts and end-user acceptability;
-defining the practical implementation of such systems, especially in the interim period when not all vehicles will be equipped;
-evaluating the liability aspects, regulations and standardisation issues which can affect implementation: involvement of public authorities from the early stages will be a key factor for future deployment.
Field of science
- /engineering and technology/mechanical engineering/vehicle engineering/automotive engineering/autonomous vehicle
Funding Scheme
IP - Integrated Project











Coordinator
Orbassano (To)
Italy
Participants (50)
Roma
37135 Verona
1521 PF 91 Budapest
Bergisch Gladbach
2628 XE Delft
Paris Cedex 16
29590 Malaga
10128 Torino
92310 Sevres
22023 Saint Brieuc
D-60488 Frankfurt Am Main
38100 Trento
361 Thermi-thessaloniki
70567 Stuttgart
51147 Koeln
1050 Brussel
Boecillo (Valladolid)
22179 Hamburg
10682 Athens
Torino
55110 Jonkoping
75732 Paris
44800 St Herblain
20011 Corbetta
2500 EX Den Haag
CV10 0TU Nuneaton Warwickshire
10126 Torino
Veldhoven
000 'S-hertogenbosch
3821 BR Amersfoort
Pontedera
00-661 Warszawa
76131 Karlsruhe
000 Trondheim
92100 Boulogne Billancourt
47008 Valladolid
106050 Gerlingen-schillerhoehe
80333 Muenchen
31400 Toulouse
Chemnitz
S Hertogenbosch
28043 Madrid
EC3A 5BA London
28040 Madrid
16126 Genova
781 87 Borlaenge
02044 Espoo
405 08 Goeteborg