CLUSTER 1: LARGE-SCALE DEMONSTRATION

Introduction

CCAM solutions shall provide a more user-centred, all-inclusive mobility, while increasing safety, reducing congestion, harmful emissions and contributing to decarbonization. Novel mobility services can enable seamless integration with existing services (e.g., public transport, logistics), and higher levels of automation are expected to support transport productivity and efficiency (e.g., transportation of goods at lower speeds to save energy, operational efficiency at logistics hubs and in hub-to-hub corridors or last mile operations). Yet, all these benefits need to be proven as well as demonstrating the technical maturityof the CCAM solutions. Previous and currently ongoing demonstration projects for individual and shared mobility for CCAM systems and services covering needs for transporting people and goods show that further testing of highly automated systems with high-scaling potential is necessary.

Cluster 1 Objective

To ensure that the results of all other Clusters are capitalized and implemented into Large –scale Demonstrations in Pilots, FOTs and Living Labs to support deployment readiness and a final impact assessment. Cluster 1 is already and will:

• Build on CCAM technologies, methods, systems and services developed in Cluster 2, 3, 4 and 5.
• Leverage on results from all Clusters by implementing and well integrating concepts in complete end-to-end mobility services for real life conditions, while involving key stakeholders such as, end users in their daily life, vehicle industry, public authorities, public and private operators, service providers, telecom, logistics etc.
• Align with Cluster 6 in order to consider societal needs and expectations, as well as use cases that are useful and needed by the people, assess the impacts of inclusive user-oriented integrated personal and shared mobility in addition to new concepts for freights and logistics enabled by CCAM with a reduced carbon footprint and reliable predicted travel times.
• Coordinate with Cluster 7, as overarching cluster, to link the R&I and testing activities across Europe in achieving a successful cross-sector collaboration between all stakeholders. Cluster 1 related projects will be involved in the development of the coordination tools by Cluster 7 and should use them to ensure comparability and complementarity of results and exchange of data, lessons learned and best practices. Tools include the EU wide Knowledge Base and the EU framework for Testing on public roads (Common Evaluation Methodology, Tests Data Sharing Framework, etc.).
• Provide feedback and lessons learned to all Clusters, reporting on limitations of used technologies and/or proven maturity as well as minimum requirements to be met across Europe regarding regulations.

Starting from the EU projects under H2020, AVENUE, SHOW, L3PILOT, AWARD, Hi-DRIVE and ENSEMBLE have covered the three development paths present in the ERTRAC roadmap (shared and individual mobility as well as trucks and goods). The Horizon Europe projects, MODI and ULTIMO will extend these with a strong service and economic viability orientation. More details per project can be found in https://www.connectedautomateddriving.eu/projects/

Cluster 1 R&I Actions

The R&I Actions in Cluster 1 bundle all Large-scale Demonstration activities in the CCAM Partnership, moving towards Deployment Readiness. The actions will focus on urban, inter- urban, sub-urban/peri-urban regions, hub-to-hub and long-distance transport corridors using highways and rural roads.

Demonstration of automated combined people and goods operations will make a big step forward to test and evaluate new operational and business models in realistic scenarios. The integration of CCAM solutions in Large-scale Demonstrations all over Europe will foster harmonisation and interoperability while facilitating co-creation with society and users, showing benefits and fostering adoption of new mobility services.

A structured approach is applied to fulfill this ambitious objective of the central Cluster 1.
From technology point of view, the demonstrated Use Cases for the projects in Cluster 1 will either,

• increase speed limitations, and/or
• increase operational design domains (in relation to geography and roadway types but also to speed capability and weather), and/or
• increase complexity of maneuvers and handling of more complex traffic situations

by integrating results from Cluster 2, Cluster 4 and Cluster 5.

From a societal point of view, the Use Cases will be embedded in real life applications ensuring they are useful to reach the mobility goals addressing the needs and expectations of CCAM users (Cluster 6). These Use Case(s) will be demonstrated using appropriate methods for the Large-scale Demonstrations depending on the maturity of the Use Cases, the complexity of its ODD as well as the main research ambition. Highly challenging Use Cases in mixed traffic in high-density inner-city traffic and high speeds on rural roads are expected to follow less complex use-cases on highways and in confined areas.

The demonstration actions use the following methods:

• Pilots (TRL 6-7) are used for integrating and testing several technological enablers and demonstrate their safe use in combination. The pilots are used to prove with prototype vehicles and applications the safe functioning of the solution with test drivers in operational environments.
• Field Operational Trials (FOTs, TRL 8) are used to enhance user acceptance and adoption by demonstrating functionality to end-users. Large-scale Demonstrations in FOTs are closer to deployment delivering detailed test data that is comparable to real life data with impacts on users and the potential of technologies for adoption and understanding of risks and benefits.
• Living Labs (TRL 8) demonstrate solutions with communities and expose the technologies towards society. In the CCAM Partnership, the Living Labs provide the entire infrastructure (including connectivity), mixed dynamic traffic environments and users and communities with vehicles from small-series production with fully integrated functionality and user interface. These Large-scale Demonstrations are facilitating R&I actions in co-creation with society, emphasizing quality-of-service and usability and impacts on everyday life of citizens. 

The integration of results from Cluster 2, Cluster 4 and Cluster 5 will be demonstrated to evaluate safe and robust system functioning. Use Cases will demonstrate higher levels of automation with connectivity to support transport productivity and efficiency, transportation of goods at lower speeds to save energy, operational efficiency at logistics hubs and in last mile such as: transportation of goods at lower speeds to save energy, operational efficiency at logistics hubs, hub-to-hub, corridors and automated last mile operations.

More mature technologies will be demonstrated together with users and stakeholders, to understand how to gain trust and speed-up adoption. Living Labs will be used to demonstrate functionalities and impacts with communities and understand the impacts on society.

At a later phase, the CCAM Partnership programme will demonstrate the full potential of new solutions, business models as well as facilitating (ex-post) assessment of societal and environmental impacts (Cluster 6). This requires a framework for public procurement of new road transport services, facilitating the uptake of new businesses and operational models.

For all R&I Actions in Cluster 1, public and private stakeholder collaboration will be required to achieve the common objectives. European wide demonstrations, including non-homologated vehicles and applying a common testing regulation framework (see Cluster 7) will deliver evidence for Deployment Readiness with quantitative data for ex-post impact assessments (Cluster 6).

Cluster 1 Expected Outcomes

• Demonstration of inclusive, user-oriented and well-integrated shared CCAM systems and services for people and goods in real traffic conditions.
• Evidence on expected impacts for safety, environment, health, economy, land-use considering of the evolution of mobility services for people and goods through testing of relevant Use Cases and ODDs that both match society needs and expectations, making the traffic and transport system more efficient.
• New market opportunities and new business models identifying and reflecting on end-users’ needs for integrated, co-created and convincing business models, leveraging the return-on-investment potential of innovative cross-sector CCAM.
• Inclusion of all relevant stakeholders needed to demonstrate CCAM for individual and shared mobility of persons and goods.
• Strengthen the close link with users and society facilitating co-creation, adoption and up-take of CCAM addressing risks, reservations and anxieties of citizens. Interoperability including cross-border functionality all over Europe.
• Harmonisation of definitions in the various approval frameworks of testing license procedures across countries and regions on public roads.
• Encouraged development of a standardised procedure for homologation independent of OEM or supplier and promote the framework for public procurement of new public/shared road transport (e.g. pods, shuttles).
• Training and education concepts for professional drivers and private citizens including costs related to retraining current drivers

Cluster 1 Timeline (as of Feb 2024)

The different R&I Actions in Cluster 1 depend on the technical maturity of the Use Case and the complexity of its ODD. CCAM Partnership Programme defines 3 levels that advance through time in maturity and robustness (see figure below),

• Stage 1 – “Selected Use Cases in limited ODD”: This level represents the 2021 state of the art technologies used in European Pilot actions from Horizon 2020 and from the projects started in 2022. Demonstration actions in Stage 1 facilitate Use Cases within “limited ODDs” (for example slow speeds, or in confined areas, or with less complexity). With the end of Horizon 2020 Pilot projects, and their results demonstrating the safe functioning, reliability, and robustness in limited ODDs.
• Stage 2 – “Combined Use Cases in extended ODD”: Demonstrations of Use Cases with extended ODDs with increased complexity – yet limited domains. These CCAM solutions will test safety, reliability, and robustness in operational environments. After successful testing the Use Cases could be implemented from 2026 onwards and demonstrate the functionality and impacts to end-users while facilitating adoption. Demonstrations will be done with users, society, business and operational demands.
• Stage 3 – “Complex combined Use Cases in large integrated ODD”: This Stage facilitates several Use Cases in a large integrated ODDs covering different road categories at their speed limits, handling more complex urban traffic situations, adverse weather conditions, road constructions and tunnels, etc. This level will further integrate results from Cluster 2, Cluster 4 and Cluster 5 while building on Use Cases from Stage 1 and Stage 2 as well as new identified Use Cases enabled through the large integrated ODD. Demonstrations will be performed throughout Europe together with key stakeholders, end-users and society, integrating many Use Cases and new mobility services in a complex large integrated ODDs.