City Mobil
Driverless transport systems in London, Rome and Castellón
The global objective of the EU research project CityMobil is to achieve a more effective organisation of urban transport. This should result in a more rational use of motorised traffic with less congestion and pollution, safer driving, a higher quality of living and an enhanced integration with spatial development. It is worth 40 million euros and involves 28 partners from 10 countries. The three sites selected to validate and demonstrate the capabilities of automated transport solutions are Heathrow airport, the new Rome exhibition centre and the Spanish town of Castellón.
While the problems of mobility in cities have been clearly identified (congestion, pollution, safety, etc), the requisite solutions are still in their infancy. It is clear that a mix of land-use policies and a shift from the private automobile to a multimodal approach is the preferred trend. The solution for implementing the multimodal approach must recognise the need for both high speed scheduled mass transport (bus, train and metro) and individualised on-demand short distance (public) transport. Automation, in all possible forms - from providing information at one end of the spectrum to fully autonomous driving at the other - will play a major role.
Most progress can be seen in the private automobile, where the introduction of so-called ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance systems) has increased comfort in driving. Notable exceptions are some automatically operated metro systems (Paris, London, Lille) and some recently introduced automated buses and people movers (Rouen, Eindhoven, Capelle aan de IJssel). CityMobil will address the issue by exploring the potential of automated transport solutions based on their deployment in real environments.
Such solutions encompass fully automated vehicles which run on tracks (personal rapid transit) or defined corridors (cybercars) or dual-mode vehicles: traditional vehicles that can be driven manually in mixed traffic or run automatically in reserved areas or dedicated infrastructure.
By the end of the CityMobil project, there will be at least three sites where an actual automated transport system will have been installed and where the first results will have been evaluated. These will not just be demonstrations of technological possibilities, but fully fledged integrated solutions that will be operated and maintained in the long term.
- The Spanish town of Castellón (Valencia) will deploy dual-mode buses which can can be operated both automatically and manually depending on the road environment.
- At the new exhibition centre in Rome, a fleet of fully automated Cybercars will operate in the car park shuttling visitors between the car park, railway station and exhibition centre.
- At Heathrow airport, a personal rapid transit system will carry people to and from the terminals and car parks in fully automated vehicles running on tracks.
CityMobil will help cities to make plans and to develop concepts that will help the relevant authorities to make decisions concerning the introduction of automated transport systems within their own city or town. Some of these cities will also enjoy a small-scale demonstration of automated vehicles.
reports
See project website: www.citymobil-project.eu
period
2006-20011
funded by
European Commission, 6th Framework Programme, Thematic Priority 1.6
partners
The project has about 50 partners, with TNO acting as the coordinator
researchers
Isaak Yperman, Tom Voge
contact
Isaak Yperman
+32 16 74.51.24