Safe Integration of Fully Automated Road Transport Systems in Urban Environments

Abstract

Automated road transport systems (ARTS) are based on the use of fully automated road vehicles controlled by a centralized system for fleet and infrastructure management. ARTS are aimed (at least at the beginning) at supplementing mass transit in the last mile and are commercially available today. However, their deployment is limited at the moment to protected or special roads. In urban areas, where these systems can be most beneficial, they cannot be implemented because of the absence of an adapted legal framework. The CityMobil2 project, financed by the European Commission, aims to remove the legal barriers that prevent the deployment of ARTS in urban areas by developing a specific legal framework. Previous experience based on risk assessment and failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis has demonstrated acceptability to national authorities. On this basis, the CityMobil2 project has started developing a methodology for the certification of full ARTS, aimed at guaranteeing an adequate level of safety. The certification framework has been developed at the theoretical level, but during the next phases of the CityMobil2 project, it will be tested in real-world conditions during the ARTS demonstrations that will be organized in several cities of Europe to make this methodology a major reference for a future legal framework.