Successfully tested Movyon technology that maintains a constant level of vehicle automation even in tunnels.
Autostrade per l’Italia’s Chief Executive Officer Roberto Tomasi: “Let’s become protagonists of change with state-of-the-art infrastructure”.
The Autostrade per l’Italia network is ready for a new phase of projects dedicated to independent driving. After the entry into service of the first 50 km of Intelligent Roads on the A1 between Firenze Sud and Firenze Nord and on the Bologna urban junction, ASPI started testing a system that will allow the vehicle to communicate with the infrastructure while maintaining the same level of autonomous driving, even in the absence of a satellite signal. To date, two experiments have already been carried out, both in a protected environment and in a motorway section, more precisely in the “Le Croci” tunnel, located between Calenzano and Barberino, a tunnel that is currently closed for the upgrading of the section. In July, the tests will continue on the A8 and the A26 with the first trial of autonomous driving on a stretch open to traffic.
The Intelligent Roads projects are part of the Mercury Programme, in which all Group companies are engaged in the construction and implementation of the dedicated innovation plan. The objective is to ensure safer infrastructures and to play a leading role in the revolution that decarbonisation, digitisation and new transport services are bringing to all mobility systems
A seamless travel experience. Movyon, a research and innovation centre of the ASPI Group and a leader in the development and integration of Intelligent Transport Systems solutions, is at the forefront of the implementation of technologies that enable the infrastructure to support autonomous driving. Together with the Politecnico di Milano, it designed tested a technology that, relying on wireless communication between the vehicle and RSU (Roadside Unit) antennas already distributed along the network, allows the car to receive information useful for precision positioning and to maintain a constant level of automation along the route. During the tests, while guaranteeing the proper equipment and support, the potential ability of the car to proceed without driver intervention was verified, thus being able to maintain Level 3 (*) autonomous driving even in tunnels, or in any case in the absence of a satellite signal.
“The road transport sector,” says Autostrade per l’Italia’s Chief Executive Officer Roberto Tomasi, “is undergoing a phase of transformation and innovation characterised by several evolving trends: the electrification of vehicles, new digital mobility services, connectivity, and autonomous driving. With cutting-edge experiments, we are looking to the future and becoming protagonists of change with the aim of making our infrastructure safer, innovative and connected. Through the Mercury programme, we support the development of self-driving vehicles, working on the ongoing improvement of reliability and safety levels”.
“With our innovation we want to give an active role to the road operator to facilitate what will be a major revolution in mobility,” stated Lorenzo Rossi, Chief Executive Officer of Movyon. “We are testing new solutions that support self-driving vehicles through the development and integration of advanced technologies and the use of communication devices already installed along the motorway network. In fact, the infrastructure, through sensors and monitoring systems for traffic and safety management, has a complete and always up-to-date view of the road network and can integrate the technological capabilities that vehicles are acquiring, increasing their reliability levels and promoting their deployment”.
Why it is essential to develop the infrastructure. Thanks to the use of C-ITS systems, it is possible to ensure the constant exchange of data between the vehicles and the infrastructure. In this way, cars can communicate with each other (V2V or Vehicle to Vehicle) and with the motorway (V2I or Vehicle to Infrastructure) to increase safety and traffic flow. In the near future, infrastructure development will be crucial to make autonomous driving even more powerful, efficient, safe and comfortable. Vehicles will be able to communicate with the infrastructure thanks to the technological innovation that Movyon is bringing to the motorway network and that could one day be extended to urban centres. The digitisation of the road network will make it possible to overcome the phase in which the vehicle autonomously collects data only thanks to its sensors and will therefore enable the vehicle to receive more information, even in case of poor visibility or obstacles.
(*) Level 3, according to SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standards, allows driving without human intervention in specific situations.