Skip to main content

UR:BAN developing driver assistance and traffic management systems

European vehicle manufacturers, including BMW, Opel and Mercedes-Benz and MAN, are taking part in a new project to develop advanced driver assistance and traffic management systems for cities. The focus is on the human element in all aspects of mobility and traffic and takes the form of three approaches: Cognitive Assistance; Networked Traffic Systems; and Human Factors in Traffic. The four-year UR:BAN project (from a German acronym for Urban Space: User-oriented assistance systems and network managemen
May 16, 2014 Read time: 3 mins

European vehicle manufacturers, including 1731 BMW, 4233 Opel and 1685 Mercedes-Benz and 267 MAN, are taking part in a new project to develop advanced driver assistance and traffic management systems for cities. The focus is on the human element in all aspects of mobility and traffic and takes the form of three approaches: Cognitive Assistance; Networked Traffic Systems; and Human Factors in Traffic.

 

The four-year UR:BAN project (from a German acronym for Urban Space: User-oriented assistance systems and network management), has been running since 2012 , funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, with 31 partners from the automotive industry, electronics/software development, research institutes and municipalities participating.

 

To tackle the cognitive assistance challenge, Opel is developing an advanced driver assistance system which uses a camera, radar and modified steering and braking systems. When a driver fails to responded to an impending collision, the system will take evasive action to steer the car away from the object.

 

Opel is also working on car-to-X communication system which shares data with other vehicles and the traffic infrastructure over a wi-fi connection. The system would apparently operate like the 2125 Audi Online traffic light information system and advise drivers how fast to travel to ensure they can get a green light at an intersection.

 

Meanwhile BMW is developing a driver assistance system to help protect pedestrians: the system analyses the situation and the pedestrian’s behaviour to assess whether there is a risk of collision with the vehicle. Accidents with pedestrians can be avoided by braking, steering or a combination of the two.  Systems installed in a BMW 5 series research vehicle make it possible to recognise detailed features of a pedestrian, i.e. the head and upper part of the body and to classify the direction in which the pedestrian is moving.

 

Truck manufacturer MAN is looking into ways of making commercial vehicles safer and more efficient for city driving. The company’s researchers are how vehicles can most efficiently provide information from assistance systems to the driver in busy urban traffic and how the cockpit can be designed so as to display exactly the right information to the driver in any given traffic situation.

 

BMW anticipates that UR:BAN will foster radical improvements in traffic flow in the future, as BMW Managing Director Dr Christoph Grote, explained: "This will enable us to further increase safety, efficiency and comfort in urban areas to significant effect," he said. 

Related Content

  • March 16, 2015
    US updates ITS strategy for Connected Vehicle deployment
    Jon Masters looks at the USDOT’s new ITS Strategic Plan for the next five years. Emphasis and direction for the next five years of Government led ITS research in the United States has been framed within a new ITS Strategic Plan. The US Department for Transportation’s (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) published the report at the tail end of 2014 after concluding a two-year ITS industry consultation process. The Plan identifies a vision to transform the way society moves and the ITS JPO’s aim of advancin
  • August 11, 2017
    Victoria trials automated vehicles
    An automated vehicle trial is underway on the Monash-CityLink-Tullamarine corridor to help Victoria, Australia, prepare for the future of driverless vehicles. The Government is partnering with VicRoads, RACV and Transurban, to trial connected and automated vehicles from manufacturers BMW, Mercedes, Tesla and Volvo. The study will look at how to prepare road infrastructure, regulations and the community for the integration of this new technology into our transport system.
  • December 11, 2013
    Siemens joins US DOT connected vehicle test bed
    Siemens Mobility and Logistics division has joined an affiliation of infrastructure device makers and operators to expand deployment of vehicle to infrastructure (V-I) communications. The affiliated test bed, organised by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) of the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), will focus on deployment of connected vehicle technology, the wireless exchange of critical safety and operational data between vehicles and specific road infrastructure l
  • June 20, 2012
    Vehicle probe data aids emergency rescue vehicle routing
    A new vehicle routeing initiative has arisen to help improve emergency response and relief following natural disasters in Japan. David Crawford reports Japan’s national ITS group ITS Japan and the country’s leading automotives have agreed on a new combined approach to the organisation of traffic management and emergency response in the wake of major natural disasters. A new, robust traffic information platform using probe data obtained from vehicles to support traffic flow will build on the shared experienc