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. 

Location Based Systems UTC

Related Content

  • November 21, 2023
    Why keeping count is so important for traffic management
    Traffic engineers need to have multiple solutions in their toolbox to complete the most accurate and safe data collection programmes possible, explains Wes Guckert of The Traffic Group
    Read More
  • July 24, 2012
    Urban utility
    Steve Lane, Commercial Director at Triteq, talks about the successful deployment of ZigBee in Barcelona where a low-cost wireless metropolitan network for location and citizen services was established. The project, he says, demonstrates ZigBee's effectiveness as an urban communications system solution ZigBee is based on the IEEE radio frequency standard 802.15.4 - 2006 for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), which provides a license-free radio frequency for a flexible, robust private wireless network. Z
    Read More
  • October 5, 2016
    Audi launches new traffic light information V2I service
    Audi of America, in conjunction with Traffic Technology Services (TTS), is to launch its first vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) technology, traffic light information, as part of its suite of Audi Connect Prime services. The feature will be introduced later this year in the US through 2017 and beyond and is available on 2017 Audi Q7, A4 and A4 Allroad models built after 1 June 2016.
    Read More
  • April 11, 2016
    PTV Group supports UK CAV project
    German transportation modelling specialist PTV Group is working with UK consultants Atkins on a project commissioned by the UK Department for Transport which looks to simulate the potential impacts connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) may have on traffic flow and capacity of the UK road network. The project uses PTV’s Vissim 8 software which enables users to create a virtual testing environment and simulate all modes of transport, illustrating their motion characteristics and mutual interaction. User
    Read More

Highlighted Content