Large-scale, cross-border demonstration of connected and highly automated driving functions for passenger cars

Deadline: Apr 21, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

Significant progress has been made in developing technologies for connected and automated driving in Europe and many large-scale demonstration projects are already ongoing. Automated driving functions for passenger cars at SAE Level 3^[1], such as Traffic Jam Chauffeur or Highway Chauffeur, are expected to be introduced into the market from 2020 onwards.

However, several challenges remain, in particular for highly automated vehicles, before we will see them on the roads. Highly automated vehicles must achieve very high levels of availability and effectiveness of the vehicle functions and their performance has to be better compared to the performance of human drivers. Based on ongoing demonstration pilots, new large scale, cross-border corridor projects for highly automated driving systems are needed to ensure that no new risks are introduced and to study user and customer expectations and acceptance, market potentials and risks.

The proposed actions should include all the following aspects:

• Demonstrate the robustness and reliability (functional safety) and user acceptance of connected and highly automated driving technologies and systems for passenger cars (SAE level 4^[2]) for different use cases in particularly challenging and complex environments that are expected to be introduced into the market after 2020.
• Test innovative connectivity technologies for connected and automated driving since communication and cooperation of automated vehicles with other vehicles, infrastructure and other road users has the potential to increase the safety, comfort, productivity and the enabling of innovative business models of automated vehicles and to improve the efficiency of the overall transport system.
• The use of the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems (Galileo and EGNOS) should be encouraged to achieve the full potential of advanced satellite positioning for automated driving functions.
• Optimised use of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data for automation should be considered.
• Conduct cross-border demonstrations to ensure that new services and systems are compatible and interoperable at European level, to optimise the use of digital technologies for automation between countries, to coordinate investments towards reliable communication coverage and to exploit the full potential of hybrid communications between short-range and long-range technologies and technologies within the 5.9 GHz spectrum band.
• Develop and test solutions for smooth communication and interaction between automated vehicles and their users and other (vulnerable) road users, taking into account gender differences, when relevant.
• Holistic concept for cybersecurity to protect automated driving systems (and its connectivity points) to avoid any (conscious) manipulations of the information enabling automated driving functions and to assure confidentiality, availability and integrity of data. This concept should also include the protection of the information collected by the automated vehicles and the external data transferred to the vehicles. Provide support to the development of testing and validation procedures of connected and automated driving functions, including their performance related to cyber-security.
• Evaluate effects of connected, cooperative and highly automated driving systems on transport system efficiency, safety, security, environment as well as on user behaviour and user acceptance, taking into account gender differences and other intersectionalities, when relevant.

Lessons learned (data, knowledge and experiences from the project, including disengagements and edge cases) should be provided. Consortia should commit to make the data collected during the pilots available through common data sharing frameworks in order to foster further research.

In line with the Union's strategy for international cooperation in research and innovation, international cooperation is encouraged. In particular, proposals should foresee cooperation with projects or partners from the US, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and/or Australia. Proposals should foresee twinning with entities participating in projects funded by US DOT to exchange knowledge and experience and exploit synergies. Twinning with Japan is also encouraged.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU between EUR 15 and 30 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Actions are expected to demonstrate at large-scale the technological readiness, reliability and safety of the connected and highly automated driving functions for different use cases in particularly challenging and complex environments. They will show that highly automated driving systems for passenger vehicles can increase road safety and transport efficiency, reduce energy use, pollutant emissions and traffic congestions, and therefore support climate action and sustainable development objectives. Better protection of connected and automated vehicles against any type of cyber threats to guarantee safe operations. Actions will seek to improve user acceptance of innovative connected and highly automated driving systems and the uptake of new business models. They will contribute to a better understanding of viable business and operating models that could lead to private and/or public private investments in communication infrastructure.

International cooperation

[1]Definition of SAE Level 3 – Conditional Automation – "the driving mode-specific performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, with the expectation that the human driver will respond appropriately to a request to intervene", according to the SAE International’s standard J3016.

[2][1] Definition of SAE Level 4 – High Automation: "the driving mode-specific performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even if a human driver does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene", according to the SAE International’s standard J3016.