New mobility services and technologies such as automated and connected vehicles are rapidly evolving and bringing new possibilities, challenges and opportunities that contribute to improving transport in Europe. The developments in automated transport bring great potential to decrease road fatalities, improve accessibility of mobility services, and reduce emissions through more efficient traffic management.
At the European level, the CCAM Partnership aligns research and development efforts in the field of Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM). It was established in 2021 as a co-programmed partnership bringing together over 200 stakeholders in Europe (the not-for-profit CCAM Association) and the European Commission via the Horizon Europe research programme. The CCAM Partnership fosters harmonised collaboration between stakeholders, together with a roadmap for the implementation of CCAM in Europe, while raising awareness of CCAM developments to increase safety, reduce the environmental impact and foster inclusiveness of new mobility solutions. This joint vision shared by the CCAM Partnership members allows for structured coordination and reinforces Europe’s leadership in the deployment of CCAM.
The CCAM Partnership initiated calls for CCAM-related projects organised around seven clusters, as shown in the diagram below, with SINFONICA being launched in 2022 as the key project contributing to Cluster 6: Societal aspects and user needs. The project contributes to an important objective of Cluster 6 by helping understand the societal needs around CCAM, an essential aspect for the design and development of viable and equitable CCAM services. To achieve this, SINFONICA follows a participatory approach and will conduct interviews and organise workshops in four Groups of Interest in Europe to engage with various user groups to gain a better understanding of their needs, expectations, and concerns. This will result in the SINFONICA Knowledge Map Explorer, a tool that will provide context-specific guidelines for the implementation of CCAM solutions and for long-term planning for cities and public authorities, which is another key objective of Cluster 6. These recommendations will support the other actions and projects of the CCAM Partnership by providing important guidance to the Large-scale demonstration projects in Cluster 1 on user and societal aspects that should be taken into consideration.
The 7 Clusters structure the activities of the CCAM Partnership, organising the necessary R&I actions to advance towards deployment readiness (Source: www.ccam.eu)
ERTICO is proud to be a partner of this important and ambitious project. ERTICO’s involvement in the project aligns seamlessly with its CCAM roadmap, which provides direction for ERTICO’s activities towards safer and more sustainable mobility. As such, ERTICO is one of the founding members of the CCAM Partnership and is leading Cluster 7: Coordination and co-leading Cluster 4: Integrating CCAM in the transport system. Through its participation in SINFONICA, ERTICO strives to raise awareness about CCAM and its societal impacts while building methodologies for co-creation, an essential aspect for the successful integration of CCAM in Europe.
As stakeholder cooperation and aligning vision are key for the development of CCAM, SINFONICA is collaborating closely with other EU-funded projects in the field. Among these projects, SINFONICA has a close connection with the ERTICO-coordinated project FAME, a continuation of the ARCADE project, which seeks to establish a European framework for testing CCAM in Europe and encourages collaboration within the CCAM community. SINFONICA has been contributing to the FAME Connected and Automated Driving Knowledge Base by sharing valuable insights on its progress. The FAME Knowledge Base stands as the ultimate repository, collecting comprehensive data, expertise, and experiences related to CAD/CCAM initiatives in Europe and worldwide to form a unified foundation of CAD/CCAM knowledge. This dynamic platform thrives on fostering extensive knowledge sharing, encouraging a broad and collaborative exchange of insights within the connected and automated driving community. Through its collaboration with FAME, SINFONICA shares knowledge and good practices on equity and accessibility to the wider CCAM community to help make inclusive CCAM services a reality.
Keywords: CCAM Partnership, FAME project, Knowledge Base, ERTICO
Picture from Freepik
