Road Safety Cluster

Announcing a New Cluster of EU Projects Advancing Road Safety and Automated Mobility in Complex Urban Environments

A groundbreaking cluster of EU-funded projects has been formed to revolutionise road safety, automated mobility, and the interaction between drivers and vulnerable road users (VRUs). This collaborative effort brings together five ambitious initiatives – AI4CCAM, HEIDI, EVENTS, PHOEBE, and SOTERIA – to develop cutting-edge solutions addressing the growing complexity of urban transport systems, forming a cluster on “Road safety in complex urban environments”.
The cluster aims to promote a safe, inclusive, and sustainable mobility system that is resilient, trustworthy, and road user-centric. By uniting efforts across these projects, this initiative is set to transform European transport research and establish new standards for road safety and automated driving.

Cluster overview

At the heart of the cluster’s mission is a shared vision for establishing the “safe system” approach. This shifts the focus from placing responsibility solely on road users to a holistic strategy where every stakeholder—from infrastructure designers to transport operators—plays a role in creating safer environments. The projects will work together to ensure that automated mobility technology is not only efficient but also transparent, inclusive, and adaptable to real-world road conditions.
The five projects are exploring how advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), simulation environments, predictive analytics, and human-machine interfaces (HMIs) can enhance urban road safety for all road users, particularly vulnerable groups such as pedestrians, cyclists, and individuals with reduced mobility.

Collective Strengths

The cluster of projects is founded on several shared strengths:

Human-Centric and Inclusive: Prioritising the needs of all road users, including vulnerable populations such as children, elderly, and those with reduced mobility.

Ethical and Trustworthy AI: Developing AI models and decision-making systems that are transparent, reliable, and capable of handling complex ethical issues.

Advanced Simulation Technologies: Leveraging co-simulation environments, hybrid testing, and machine learning to safely evaluate and validate new technologies.

Scalability and Resilience: Ensuring that solutions are adaptable across various transport modes, from micro-mobility services to automated vehicles, and capable of handling unexpected events and system failures.