ASSET-ROAD

ASSET Advanced Safety and Driver Support in Essential Road Transport

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'As the European objectives of integration and economic growth are achieved, there is a corresponding vigorous growth in road traffic volumes. This results in congestion and increased numbers of road fatalities. The objective of the ASSET project is to reverse these negative effects by developing a number of promising technologies and integrating them into a new holistic approach to road safety. The holistic approach will be at system and practical level. Integrated architectures will be developed to facilitate the exchange of secure information between road, vehicle and driver. There will be a particular focus on the Human Machine Interface – developing supporting systems which pass on safety-critical information to the driver. Driver monitoring technologies such as ‘track and trace’ will use computer vision to identify abnormal driver behaviour (speed, gap, load) and inform driver and authorities. - Improving drivers knowledge and behaviour - Increased automation and traffic control for safety/efficiency - Innovative measures for safe and sustainable infrastructure A number of technologies will be developed and integrated into the holistic system like a thermal imaging tool to detect dangerous heavy goods vehicles, a new weigh-in-motion sensor which can detect critical tyres as well as overloaded. The main theme is the integration of different information from different sources into a comprehensive system and the communication of the relevant information to where they are needed. Several application areas will be developed with concrete deliverables such as a safety station, crisis and dangerous goods management and an infrastructure life cycle optimisation system. Systems will be tested at a number of sites in different parts of Europe and results disseminated through seminars, workshops and demonstrations. The consortium involves 7 universities, 3 research institutes, 1 industrial company, 1 end user administration and has 7 SME’s to exploit the outputs commercially.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A novel cutting-edge system that alerts drivers about traffic violations, pre-empts accidents caused by heavy vehicles and assists drivers in many ways has just been developed. Once adopted by governments, it could potentially save many lives.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The EU has aimed to cut road fatalities in 10 years by half, hoping to save thousands of lives every year. While some progress has been made in this direction, there is still a long way to go in order to achieve the EU's targets.

The EU-funded project 'Asset advanced safety and driver support in essential road transport' (ASSET-ROAD) sought to prevent accidents by reinforcing driver awareness, introducing early warning systems, designing new road-safety strategies and providing practical recommendations.

With this in mind, the project aimed to test a holistic, integrated safety system that combines driver support, economy, protective infrastructure and cooperation of stakeholders. It focused mostly on heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), which pose the highest degree of threat.

From a technical perspective, the project developed advanced sensor systems that acquire data from multiple sources, combined with automated detection of offences and driver assistance tools. The technology boasts a fast weigh-in-motion sensor that detects overloaded HGVs using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and thermal image monitoring to pinpoint defective brakes, bearings and tyres, among others. This is coupled with new pavement sensors to measure pavement loads, monitor seat belt compliance, and assess environmental conditions such as ice and water on road surfaces.

In parallel, ASSET-ROAD developed a driver assistance system that monitors traffic violators via video surveillance and alerts drivers on road regulations and configurations through the Live In-vehicle Smart Assistant (LISA), an interactive intelligent human-machine interface. The project also designed a system of intelligent interactive services that shares information online, installing it in four different test locations (Germany, France, Austria and Finland). The information was then made accessible to drivers, emergency crews, police and other stakeholders in a bid to prevent accidents and enhance road safety.

Through these initiatives, the project contributed to enhancing traffic safety by creating more efficient traffic flow and using cutting-edge systems to avoid road hazards altogether. Once fully operational, road accidents and casualties are set to decrease significantly, sparing valuable lives and making Europe a global model in terms of road safety.